In an effort to alleviate its budget crisis, Timberland Regional Library (TRL) placed a levy lid lift initiative on the 2026 General Election Ballot. As a special purpose taxing district, TRL is funded primarily through local property taxes — 93.7% as of 2026.
However, as Grays Harbor County residents received their mail-in ballots this week, a groundswell of social media posts indicated that the levy lift was left off some ballots.
Rob Richards, the campaign manager for the Yes 4 Libraries initiative, says, “Hopefully we can get them reprinted and re-issued.”
Richards added that every vote is critical in an election, especially when an initiative involves multiple counties. In this case, TRL serves five counties. Hoquiam is the second largest city in Grays Harbor County, with a population of just over 8,000.
“Especially since ballots are out and people are voting, it’s important to get it fixed quickly,” Richards said. “It’s hard to compare a February 2009 election with a mid-term election because the voter turnout is going to be so much larger. Every vote counts, in our rural places especially, Hoquiam is one of the bigger cities in Grays Harbor County so that’s a big chunk of the voting population and we want every ‘yes’ vote we can get.”
Timberland Regional Library is aware of the situation and has issued a press release.
According to TRL, due to an error by the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office, ballots sent to voters in Hoquiam did not include Timberland Regional Library Levy Proposition No. 1.
Supplemental ballots containing the Library levy proposition will be mailed to affected registered voters early next week.
If you have already returned your first ballot:
Please complete and return the supplemental ballot provided by the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office on or before November 3 by 8 p.m.
Please complete and return BOTH ballots in their separate return envelopes, following the Auditor’s Office’s instructions on or before November 3 by 8 p.m.
“Timberland Regional Library appreciates that this error was caught early, and that the Auditor’s Office has acted quickly to resolve the situation and provided an opportunity for every eligible voter to cast a vote on the Library District’s levy proposition,” TRL stated.
As of press time, the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office has not responded to requests for comment.
For more information about the Library Levy, visit TRL.org/levy.
If you have questions about your supplemental ballot or how to return it, contact the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office at elections@graysharbor.us (360) 249-4232, Opt. 1.
