EVERETT — For 71,598 voters in Snohomish County, the election is over.
They had cast and returned their ballots for the Nov. 2 election as of Tuesday morning.
They represent 18.9 percent of the county’s registered voters and almost a third of all those expected to participate in the mid-term contest.
Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Weikel said Tuesday she didn’t anticipate such a high rate of return with a full week to go in voting.
“I think it is reflective of the excitement of this particular election,” said Weikel, who predicts 64 percent of voters will turn out — or maybe it’s turn-in — this year.
Interest is high for several reasons. The winner of U.S. Senate race between Democratic Sen. Patty Murray and Republican Dino Rossi could decide which political party has control of the Senate.
The rematch between Democratic Congressman Rick Larsen and Republican challenger John Koster for the 2nd Congressional District seat is garnering a lot of attention and spending in the county.
There are also a slew of intriguing initiatives, including creation of an income tax, repeal of sales taxes on soft drinks and bottled water and an end to the state monopoly on the sale of hard liquor.
Most ballots in Snohomish County are arriving by mail; however, there’s been a noticeable increase in the number plucked out of the county’s 24-hour drop boxes. Nearly 13,000 ballots had been deposited in one of the nine around the county, as of Monday morning, since voting began nearly two weeks ago.
“Things are working well. It’s a sign of the interest of voters that they have made an effort to drive to a drop-off box to deliver their ballot,” Weikel said.
In King County, where a turnout of 68 percent is predicted by election officials, 15.29 percent of ballots had been returned as of the last reported tally Monday night. In sheer numbers, that’s 164,126 out of 1,073,317 ballots sent out.
“We’re a little bit under what we anticipated but not dramatically so,” said Chief Communications Officer Kim van Ekstrom. “Everything is still on target.”
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
What’s in
Snohomish County provides daily updates on the number of returned ballots on its elections website: www.snoco.org/elections
King County does too: www.kingcounty.gov/elections/elections/201011.aspx.
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