Today’s the day to cast votes

It’s Election Day for voters in Washington and Idaho, where races for local offices and local issues dominate many ballots.

Voters in both states will decide contests for municipal offices, and in Washington many of the other political districts – school, fire, water, sewer and cemetery – have offices or levies on the ballot. The city of Spokane has a $42.9 million bond issue for parks and pools, and voters across Washington decide ballot measures on everything from insurance company regulation and inmate labor to those that would make it easier to pass school levies but harder for the Legislature to raise taxes.

Most voters in Eastern Washington cast ballots by mail. They must be postmarked by tonight or deposited by 8 p.m. in boxes at drop-off stations set up by individual counties. Spokane County has drop-off sites at all public libraries.

In Idaho, polls are open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Legal residents who aren’t registered can sign up and vote by showing state-issued identification and, if the current address is different from the ID card, proof of residence such as a utility statement in the resident’s name at that address.