The state’s primary election deadline is Tuesday and Secretary of State Sam Reed is urging voters not to wait until the 11th hour, but to get their ballots in so they are definitely counted.
For the past two weeks, voters have been returning ballots in the state’s first election since lawmakers officially switched the state entirely to vote-by-mail. Drop-off sites and the county offices close for voting at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Turnout is normally tepid for off-year primaries without the draw of hot statewide contests, Reed noted. There are no statewide primaries this year. The primaries for statewide office, including open races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state, will be next year, and that’s when the U.S. Senate, 10 U.S. House races, and many legislative, judicial and other contests will be on the ballot.
All told, the state Elections Division calculates that about 78 percent of the state’s registered voters, or about 2.86 million, received primary ballots.
Reed, the state’s chief elections official, said odd-year elections in Washington are largely devoted to local elections, mostly nonpartisan, and various ballot propositions. Turnout is typically not as strong as in even-numbered years, when many hotly contested races generate heavy voter and media attention and ad blitzes.
Reed urged voters across the state to take part in the annual civic exercise of self-government. He said local elections and propositions are often pivotal to the life of a community.
“Local government truly is the government closest to the people and those whom we elect will be making exceptionally important decisions in the days to come. We ask that every eligible citizen to cast ballots. Your vote truly is your voice, and you deserve to be heard.”
