How to run for office in Grays Harbor County, Washington.

The short version.

Washington uses a top-two primary: every candidate for an office runs on the same August ballot regardless of party, and the two with the most votes advance to November. To get on the ballot you file a declaration of candidacy during the state's May filing week and pay a filing fee (or file a petition instead). Washington votes entirely by mail.

This page covers how that works for Grays Harbor County. It is not legal advice — for the official rules, your county elections office and the Washington Secretary of State are the sources of truth.

Grays Harbor County at the ballot box.

How to get on the ballot in Washington.

Washington has no party primaries. Every candidate for an office appears on the same August ballot — you may state a party preference, but it isn't a party nomination — and the two candidates with the most votes advance to the November general election, even if they prefer the same party.

File your declaration of candidacy.

You file a Declaration of Candidacy during the state's filing week (a set week in May) and pay a filing fee equal to 1% of the office's annual salary (RCW 29A.24.091). If the office pays $1,000 a year or less, there is no fee.

Can't afford the fee? File a petition instead.

You file with your county elections office (the County Auditor, or an elections department like Grays Harbor County Auditor — Elections) for county, local, and legislative offices, or with the Washington Secretary of State for federal and statewide offices.

Key Washington dates (2026 reference).

• May 4–8, 2026Filing Week — file your declaration of candidacy (online filing was open this week) and pay the fee or file a petition.
• Tue Aug 4, 2026Washington top-two primary (all-mail).
• Tue Nov 3, 2026Washington general election.

These are the 2026 dates, shown for reference — the 2026 filing week has already passed. Washington holds filing week in May each election year; for the next cycle's exact dates see the Washington Secretary of State candidate page.

Offices on the ballot.

Up in 2026 (primary August 4, general November 3):

• U.S. House — all 10 Washington seats
• Washington Legislature — all 98 state House seats and about half of the 49 state Senate seats
• County & local — county council or commission, assessor, sheriff, prosecutor, etc. (varies by county)
• Judicial — Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and Superior Court seats up this cycle

No U.S. Senate or statewide executive offices are on Washington's 2026 ballot — those were on the ballot in 2024 and return in 2028. For the official list of Grays Harbor County seats up this cycle, check your county elections office.

Your county elections office.

Washington runs elections through 39 county elections offices — the County Auditor in most counties, or a dedicated elections department in Grays Harbor County. This is where you file for county, local, and legislative offices, and the source of truth for local dates, district maps, and petition forms.

Contact details verified 2026-06-18. If a field is wrong or out of date, your county elections office and the Washington Secretary of State are the canonical sources.

After you file: building a field operation.

Filing is the paperwork. What starts then is the actual campaign — reaching voters, recruiting volunteers, and identifying the people who'll return a ballot for you in August and November.

That's what Motion51 is built for. The Grays Harbor County voter file is already loaded — no chasing a CSV or paying a vendor. You scope your district, recruit volunteers, cut turf, and start knocking. The app works offline for neighborhoods with bad cell coverage, and every door is logged with a timestamp — a strong complement to Washington's all-mail ballots.

If filing is settled and you're thinking about the field operation, our For Candidates page walks through the next steps.