Snohomish County officials believe last week’s events have taken voters’ minds away from today’s primary election.

By Jim Haley

Herald Writer

Snohomish County residents may not know the results of some close races in today’s primary election until Friday or later because a lot of the absentee voters may be late casting ballots, election officials said Monday.

Events of the last week apparently have taken voters’ minds off voting, said Scott Konopasek, election manager for the Snohomish County auditor’s office.

The terrorist attacks on the East Coast, plus a week’s suspension of life as normal in this country, have diverted attention from the primary election, one of the most basic of democratic activities, Konopasek said.

As of Monday morning, some 52,000 absentee ballots had been returned to the auditor. Those plus any that were hand-delivered to the auditor’s drop box during the day will be the first counted tonight.

Konopasek said it’s unlikely many of the mail-in ballots returned today will be checked for signatures and sorted in time to be counted right away. The next time ballots will be counted is Friday.

Primary election Polls open: 7 a.m. Polls close: 8 p.m. Information: You can telephone the auditor’s office during business hours (425-388-3444) or check out the auditor’s Web page at www.co.snohomish.wa.us/auditor/.

On Monday, election workers were checking signatures on absentee ballots and moving them into boxes sorted by precinct. They weren’t too busy.

"We’re geared up to handle a lot more than what has been thrown at us this time," Konopasek said.

About 150,000 absentee ballots were distributed for today’s primary election, and if past elections are any guide, a very high percentage will be cast, Konopasek said.

That could mean 40,000 to 60,000 late-arriving ballots, most of which would be counted Friday. After that, the next counting time will be Sept. 24, a week from voting day. The election will be verified Sept. 28.

Ordinarily, between 75,000 and 80,000 ballots would have been received in time to be sorted, checked and counted election night, Konopasek added.

"If my hypothesis is correct, and many who have absentee ballots are getting them out at the last minute, the close races won’t be decided until Friday at the earliest," Konopasek said.

Of course, he conceded, it’s possible people simply won’t vote this time at all.

Nonetheless, Konopasek and Auditor Bob Terwilliger still expect a turnout of up to 45 percent of the county’s 322,000 registered voters.

The electorate is selecting candidates who will go on to the Nov. 6 general election. They are also deciding a handful of issues, such as a tax increase to expand Community Transit services and three propositions affecting the operation of the Port of Edmonds.

Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

People who need information about their polling place can telephone the auditor’s office during business hours (425-388-3444) or check out the auditor’s Web page (www.co.snohomish.wa.us/auditor/).

You can call Herald Writer Jim Haley at 425-339-3447

or send e-mail to haley@heraldnet.com.