The Nov. 8 general election actually began in mid-October when the King County Elections Division mailed out about 1.1 million ballots in the all-mail election.

To be counted, a ballot must be postmarked by 8 p.m. Tuesday, when the election is officially over. There is a ballot drop-off box in the parking lot outside  the division’s headquarters  at 919 S.W. Grady Way as a convenient way to beat the deadline.

The county will release the first results just after 8 p.m. on Tuesday and then daily at 4:30 p.m., except weekends and the holiday.

The Canvassing Board will certify the results on Nov. 29, with the final results posted at the elections website at noon Nov. 30. The election in Renton has been highlighted by three contested City Council races and the race to replace Don Jacobson on the Board of Commissioners for Public Hospital District No. 1.

Mayor Denis Law is running unopposed for a second term leading the city.

This weekend promises to be a busy one as the candidates make their final pleas for votes.

Once the voting is done, the public can watch the ballot-processing activities in person or on  live streaming video from three web cams set up at the elections office.

“Local voters and people from all over the world used our first web cam, which was put in place during last year’s General Election, to watch our ballot opening process,” said elections director Sherril Huff in a county press release.

The election cams display activities in the sorting, opening, and scanning areas of elections headquarters.

King County is the largest county in the U.S. to conduct elections entirely by mail, and the department predicts it will process more than 500,000 ballots this election.

The election cams will provide around-the-clock footage of ballot processing on the King County Elections website until the election is certified on Nov. 29.

The public can view the process in person from a viewing loop that circles the main work areas. The loop is open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with extended hours on Election Days. For more information, call 206-296-VOTE (8683).