A trickle of ballots so far for Washington’s primary

A ballot drop box in Olympia (Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard)

Voters in Washington are in no hurry to cast ballots in the Aug. 6 primary.

Less than 11% of the state’s nearly 4.9 million registered voters had returned their ballot as of Tuesday, according to data on the secretary of state’s website.

Mason County topped all counties with 19.2% turnout. King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Clark counties – four of the most populous in the state – were all at or below 10%.

Washington’s electorate may be moving slowly given the stakes and their role in narrowing the field to two finalists who will meet in the November general election.

Check out the Standard’s voter guide for information on candidates in key statewide and Congressional races.

For example, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, faces 10 opponents in her bid for re-election with Republican Raul Garcia viewed as the toughest challenger in the crowd 

And 28 people are running to succeed Gov. Jay Inslee who is exiting after three terms. Of those, Democrats Bob Ferguson and Mark Mullet and Republicans Dave Reichert and Semi Bird are the frontrunners.

There also are races for eight other statewide executive posts and all 10 of Washington’s congressional districts.

Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell said the length of the ballot might be a factor in the county’s paltry 8.3% turnout a week out from Election Day.

“There’s a lot to dig into for a lot of races,” he said. “I think voters are making sure they consider all their options.”

On Tuesday, the secretary of state reported 522,899 ballots returned, or 10.7% of the state’s registered voters. Ballot return figures were updated at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

At this same juncture in 2020, there had been 691,395 ballots received which was 15% of the electorate. That year, 54.4% of voters had a ballot counted, which was 20% higher than the 2016 primary and the greatest percentage since 1964.

Many factors “could have played a role in this great increase in turnout,” concluded a state elections report. The COVID-19 pandemic, the ensuing changes in state policies due to the coronavirus and the economy may have resulted in an increased interest in politics. Many people were staying home and may have had more time to complete and return a ballot, the report concluded.

Meanwhile, the secretary of state announced Tuesday that it has provided grants to 29 counties to beef up security measures ahead of this election.

Counties used the money to upgrade IT infrastructure, install security cameras and access controls to election centers, replace ballot drop boxes and boost physical security of buildings.

 Stevens County Auditor Lori Larsen said in a statement that the resources enabled “significant security improvements” in a new ballot processing space. Those include see-through wire mesh barriers, large monitors and a lobby management system.

In Thurston County, grant dollars helped pay for acquiring and installing large concrete planters to serve as permanent vehicle barriers outside elections offices. 

“These will protect both staff and voters during an election,” Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall said.  

Ballots must be in a drop box or postmarked in the mail by 8 p.m. on Election Day. You can register and vote in person at a county election office up until 8 p.m. on Election Day. To do so, visit a county elections office.

Editor’s note: This story updated with new ballot return totals at 5 p.m. Tuesday.