As official ballots begin to be mailed out in the state of Washington, it is time to begin planning how to return them in time for the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

In Washington, registered voters can cast their ballots by mail or in-person at a voting center or at an official ballot drop box.

Ballot drop boxes are safe and one of the most convenient ways to cast your vote since they are open 24 hours up until the day before election day. According to Washington state law, ballot drop boxes must be able to withstand inclement weather and should be secured to either the ground or another structure to ensure that they cannot be removed or tampered with.

You may find that some ballot deposit sites are staffed by people who are employed by the county auditor's office or who are appointed by the auditor. These staff may not access the ballots unless there are at least two people present who are tasked with transporting the ballots in secured transport containers and keeping a record of who removed the ballots and the date and time ballots are removed from the ballot boxes, according to state law.

Voters interested in casting their ballots in a drop box can do so anytime between Oct. 18 and Election Day, when boxes are scheduled to close at 8 p.m. Washington voters who are in line at 8 p.m. on Election Day must still be allowed to deposit their ballots, according to Washington state law.

Pierce County has 50 voting drop boxes, in addition to a voting center at 2501 S. 35th St. Suite C, according to the Pierce County website.

Ballot drop box locations in Pierce County

Here is a complete list of ballot drop boxes in the county.

72nd St. Transit Center, 1319 E 72nd St., Tacoma 98404

Anderson Island Park & Ride, Yoman Rd. (near Villa Beach Rd.), Anderson Island 98303

Ashford County Park, 29801 SR 706, Ashford 98304

Bonney Lake Park & Ride, Sky Island Dr. E. & 184th Ave. E., Bonney Lake 98391

Bonney Lake Public Safety Building, 18409 Veterans Memorial Dr. E., Bonney Lake 98391

Browns Point/ Northeast Tacoma, NE Police Substation, 4731 Norpoint Way NE, Tacoma 98422

Buckley Library, 123 S. River Rd., Buckley 98321

Carbonado Town Hall, 250 Coal Ave., Carbonado 98323

Community Health Care at Salishan, 1708 E 44th St., Tacoma 98404

DuPont Ross Plaza, 1500 Wilmington Dr., DuPont 98327

Eatonville Barney's Corner, 40512 Meridian E., Eatonville 98328

Eatonville Town Hall, 201 Center St. W., Eatonville 98328

Edgewood City Hall, 2224 104th Ave. E., Edgewood 98372

Elbe Fire Station (Next to Lahar Siren), Elbe 98330

Fife City Hall, 5411 23rd St. E., Fife 98424

Fircrest City Hall, 115 Ramsdell St., Fircrest 98466

Fox Island Nichols Community Center, 690 9th Ave., Fox Island 98333

Gig Harbor City Hall, 3510 Grandview St., Gig Harbor 98335

Gig Harbor Library, 4424 Point Fosdick Dr. NW, Gig Harbor 98335

Graham Fire & Rescue Station 91, 10012 187th St. E., Puyallup 98375

Graham Library, 9202 224th St. E., Graham WA 98338

Hilltop, 902 S. L St., Tacoma 98405

Home Park, 17220 8th Ave. NW, Lakebay 98349

Kandle Park Police Substation (parking lot), 5140 N. 26th St., Tacoma 98407

Key Center Food Market, 9021 Key Peninsula Hwy NW, Lakebay 98349

Lake Kathryn Food Market, 14220 92nd Ave. NW, Gig Harbor 98329

Lakewood City Hall, 6000 Main St. SW, Lakewood 98499

Lakewood (SR 512) Park & Ride, 10417 South Tacoma Way , Lakewood 98499

Milton City Hall, 1000 Laurel St., Milton 98354

Orting Valley Fire & Rescue, 401 Washington Ave. SE, Orting 98360

Parkland/Spanaway Library, 13718 Pacific Ave. S., Tacoma 98444

Pierce County Annex, 2401 S 35th St., Tacoma 98409

Purdy Park & Ride, 14567 Purdy Dr., Gig Harbor 98332

Puyallup Library, 324 South Meridian, Puyallup 98371

Roy City Hall, 216 McNaught Rd. S., Roy 98580

Roy Y Park & Ride, SR 507 and Pacific Ave. S., Spanaway 98387

Ruston at Totem Yacht Club, 5045 N Highland St., Ruston 98407

Skookum Archers, 11209 Shaw Rd. E., Puyallup 98374

South Hill Library, 15420 Meridian E., Puyallup 98375

South Hill Park & Ride, 3102, 9th St. SW, Puyallup 98373

South Prairie Fire Department, 350 Highway 162, South Prairie 98385

Steilacoom Library, 2950 Steilacoom Blvd., Steilacoom 98388

Summit Library, 5107 112th St. E., Tacoma 98446

Sumner Library, 1116 Fryar Ave., Sumner 98390

Tacoma Area Coalition of Individuals with Disabilities, 6315 S 19th St., Tacoma 98466

Tillicum Community Center, 14916 Washington Ave. SW, Lakewood 98498

UW Tacoma, 1906 Pacific Ave., Tacoma 98402

Wapato Park, S 72nd St. & S Ainsworth Ave., Tacoma 98408

West Pierce Fire & Rescue, 3631 Drexler Dr. W., University Place 98466

Wheelock Library, 3722 N 26th St., Tacoma 98407

Wilkeson Town Hall, 540 Church St., Wilkeson 98396

Prohibited actions near ballot drop box locations

Washington State law strictly prohibits the following five actions in or around drop box locations.

You cannot engage in any of these actions within 25 feet of ballot boxes in the 18 days leading up to an election, as well as on election day:

People who are found to have violated these rules can be arrested and charged with a gross misdemeanor which is punishable by up to 364 days in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or a combination of the two, according to state law.