Politics & Government
King County Primary Turnout Lower Than Expected
King County turnout may not reach the turnout projected before the primary, but it may surpass the primary turnout percentages of recent years. No significant changes from Tuesday night results.
A little under 40 percent of ballots have arrived at the King County Elections office by Wednesday afternoon, which is below early projections of turnout, but would beat the turnout of recent past years, according to county records.
Updated results show no new surprises in our local races, which determine which two candidates will face off in November. The counties continue to update results until the certification of the election.
About 435,000 ballots have arrived at the county to date, and more ballots may continue to arrive, said King County elections spokeswoman Barbara Ramey.
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Though the county reported receiving 25 percent of ballots by election day, 150,000 ballots came in overnight through the mail or in the ballot boxes, she said.
"A lot of ballots came in yesterday," she said Wednesday morning.
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While the ballots have not yet been certified, the total and percentage would surpass the past few recent August primaries. In the 2008 August primary, which had a governor's race, the county had a 34.9 percent voter turnout with 363,197 ballots counted, according to county records. King County primary turnout last broke 40 percent in 2004, when 46 percent of voters turned in their ballots.
Voter turnout has been much lower so far in Pierce County, where, the Pierce County Auditor’s Office had received 104,060 ballots, or about 25 percent of the ballots issued, according to University Place Patch.
Pierce County Elections manager Mike Rooney said the county now expects a return of about 40 percent of the ballots, down from the 48 percent it originally projected.
Rooney said the primary date this year, which was moved up about two weeks, might also be contributing to the turnout.
Secretary of State Sam Reed had predicted a statewide primary turnout of 46 percent. According to an Associated Press story posted Wednesday, Reed's office now wonders whether the primary should be pushed back to June when more people are at home. However, it would have to be Secretary of State candidates Kim Wyman or Kathleen Drew who would implement any changes -- Reed is leaving office at the end of his term.
Does the turnout surprise you? If you didn't vote, do you regret it now? Tell us in the comments below.
Selected Updated Results via the Washington Secretary of State's Office
Governor County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Rob Hill (Prefers Democratic Party) 33,934 3.77% Rob McKenna (Prefers Republican Party) 385,103 42.81% Jay Inslee (Prefers Democratic Party) 424,300 47.17% James White (Prefers Independent Party) 9,767 1.09% Christian Joubert (States No Party Preference) 6,946 0.77% Shahram Hadian (Prefers Republican Party) 22,446 2.5% L. Dale Sorgen (Prefers Independent Party) 6,118 0.68% Max Sampson (Prefers Republican Party) 6,392 0.71% Javier O. Lopez (Prefers Republican Party) 4,460 0.5% Total Votes 899,466 100%Attorney General County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Bob Ferguson (Prefers Democratic Party) 444,995 52.26% Reagan Dunn (Prefers Republican Party) 326,558 38.35% Stephen Pidgeon (Prefers Republican Party) 80,007 9.4% Total Votes 851,560 100%
Congressional District 9 - U.S. Representative County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Adam Smith (Prefers Democratic Party) 45,622 60.86% Jim Postma (Prefers Republican Party) 17,307 23.09% Tom Cramer (Prefers Democratic Party) 5,409 7.22% Dave Christie (Prefers F.D.R. Democrat Party) 2,376 3.17% John Orlinski (Prefers Republican Party) 4,254 5.67% Total Votes 74,968 100%
Legislative District 41 - State Senator County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Maureen Judge (Prefers Democratic Party) 8,775 42.36% Steve Litzow (Prefers Republican Party) 11,939 57.64% Total Votes 20,714 100% Legislative District 41 - State Representative Pos. 1 County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Tim Eaves (Prefers Republican Party) 8,875 43.07% Marcie Maxwell (Prefers Democratic Party) 11,732 56.93% Total Votes 20,607 100% Legislative District 41 - State Representative Pos. 2 County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Judy Clibborn (Prefers Democratic Party) 14,563 100% Total Votes 14,563 100%
Legislative District 48 - State Representative Pos. 1 County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Ross Hunter (Prefers Democratic Party) 10,923 68.43% Bill Hirt (Prefers Republican Party) 5,040 31.57% Total Votes 15,963 100% Legislative District 48 - State Representative Pos. 2 County Results & Map CandidateVoteVote % Hank Myers (Prefers Republican Party) 7,056 44.41% Cyrus Habib (Prefers Democratic Party) 8,832 55.59% Total Votes 15,888 100%
Complete results available at the Washington State Secretary of State's office.
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