A ballot drop box is on the way for Ocean Shores.

The ballot drop box was installed on Jan. 29 at the corner of Minard Avenue and West Chance A La Mer Street North West in front of the convention center. The drop box will replace the election center drop site which was in use before the box was installed. The drop box was purchased by the county for $2,400.

In 2016, the state Legislature passed Senate Bill 5472 mandating ballot drop boxes in most communities.

The bill states “the county auditor must establish a minimum of one ballot drop box per (15,000) registered voters in the county and a minimum of one ballot drop box in each city, town, and census designated place in the county with a post office.”

Following the passage of the bill, the county installed a drop box in Elma. The county also has a drop box in Hoquiam and one at the county courthouse. The drop box for Ocean Shores is similar to the drop box in front of the county courthouse.

The county also is looking to install a ballot drop box in Westport.

In total, the county needs to install more than a dozen drop boxes to be in compliance with the law. Commissioner Randy Ross said he expects that ballot box installation will slow down after the Wesport drop box.

“We’re going forward as we can on these, but we’re also planning on putting the state on notice that this is an unfunded mandate,” Ross said. “We’ll put a claim into the state.”