If you have driven by Jefferson Park in north Richland lately, you may have already noticed that the ballot box there has disappeared. The box is usually on the concrete median along Symonds Street east of George Washington Way.
In response to worried residents, the Observer reached out to Amanda Hatfield, Benton County election manager, to ask what happened to it.
“Just doing some upgrades to our busier boxes,” Hatfield wrote in an email.
According to Hatfield, a larger ballot box should be installed by the end of the week.
This seems to be a good time to upgrade as the ballot for the April 22 Special Election has nothing pertaining to Richland on it. The next Richland election will be the Aug. 5 primary.