The first step in the race for the 43rd…. a hugely important decision on a new Seattle housing levy…. the August primary ballot is headed your way.

Consider voting early and getting it done before the full daze of Seattle summer sets in. You’ll still need to mail your ballot this time around, though.

As planned, Capitol Hill won’t be part of the first wave of new King County Elections ballot drop boxes around Seattle but the planning is underway to get a box on the Hill in time for the general election in November and all of its big decisions, too. An Elections rep tells CHS that the department is still in “negotiations with property owners” as it works out a possible drop location at either Harvard’s Capitol Hill Library branch or Seattle Central. In 2011, Washington shifted to all-mail elections but the percentage of eligible voters participating in the 2014 midterm election fell below 40%. According to the county’s proposal, the ballot drop boxes are especially important for last-minute voters.

The August ballot also features the primary race in the 7th Congressional District to replace retiring Democratic stalwart Jim McDermott. Current State Senator representing the 37th legislative district Pramila Jayapal, King County Council member Joe McDermott and house representative for the 43rd and Capitol Hill resident Brady Walkinshaw appear set to tangle to go through to the general in November.

In addition to the top-two primaries in the 7th and 43rd, Capitol Hill voters will be able to cast their votes on the proposed $290 million Seattle housing levy, funding twice the size of the current pot used to power affordable housing development in Seattle. Since 1981, Seattle voters have approved property tax levies (of increasing size and duration of time) dedicated to constructing and preserving affordable housing for seniors, low-wage workers, and homeless youth and adults, as well as providing low-income homebuyer assistance. The city Office of Housing boasts that the levy has funded over 12,000 affordable units—by preservation and construction—over its lifetime. Local affordable housing projects such as 12th Ave Arts and the preserved Haines apartments for seniors on E Olive Way have received levy funding. The planned Liberty Bank project will also be partially funded by levy funds.