Spokane County primary election deadline is 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4

Spokane County voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, to use ballot drop boxes in the county’s 2026 primary election. Spokane County Elections also will provide in-person voter registration and voter-update services until that same election-day deadline.

The primary is a county-administered election with local and county races on the ballot. Ballots were mailed July 15 through July 17, according to Spokane County Elections.

Election-night schedule

The 8 p.m. deadline is the immediate cutoff identified by the county for ballot drop boxes and in-person voter services. Voters relying on either option must complete that step by the election-day closing time.

Spokane County Elections expects to post unofficial results at approximately 8:15 p.m. on Aug. 4. Those election-night figures are not the certified outcome and may change before the county completes its scheduled post-election process.

The county has scheduled a post-election audit for Aug. 13. Certification is scheduled for Aug. 18, establishing the later procedural milestones after the primary’s initial results release.

Auditor race is among contests on the ballot

One contest in the 2026 election is the race for Spokane County auditor. The candidates are Callie Gee, Michael Cathcart and Dale Whitaker, according to The Spokesman-Review.

The county auditor’s office oversees county financial-management and records functions. That makes the contest a race for an office with responsibilities beyond the administration of the primary itself.

The approved election information does not provide a complete list of individual Spokane-area contests or specify which candidates will advance without consulting the county’s voter guide and sample ballot. It also does not provide ballot-return totals, turnout figures or election outcomes.

What happens after ballots are returned

Tuesday’s 8 p.m. deadline marks the end of the county’s identified election-day window for ballot drop boxes, in-person registration and voter updates. The expected 8:15 p.m. release is the first public results milestone, rather than the final stage of the process.

The Aug. 13 audit and Aug. 18 certification remain ahead after election night. Until certification, results released by Spokane County Elections should be understood as unofficial.