EVERETT — The work at the Snohomish County’s elections center isn’t finished, but most of the results from last week’s election have fallen into place.
This year saw a significant drop in turnout from 2020, county Auditor Garth Fell said, but it was far from unexpected.
The 2020 general election saw a robust 85% turnout, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic forcing voters into their homes, where the state’s mail-in voting requirement worked to their benefit. This year’s turnout rate is consistent with other presidential elections outside of the outlier pandemic year. As of Friday, turnout was at 79%, with an estimated 750 ballots left to count.
“That would be an average turnout, well within the range of what we’ve seen in presidential elections. Certainly not the lowest and certainly not the highest,” Fell said. “We always hope for the highest turnout possible, but 80% would be a good showing.”
Snohomish County’s new $8.6 million, 17,000 square-foot elections center also stood up to the test of its first presidential election. Apart from increased security and transparency, Fell said the county was also able to count 95% of votes a day or two earlier than usual. Over the course of the week, several hundred election observers visited the center.
It was a mixed night for both major political parties, as Washington remained a largely Democratic stronghold while national results went the way of the Republicans.
Most local Democratic representatives saw small gains in their margins over 2022, mostly in the 1%-3% range. Other Democrats, like Cindy Ryu and Lauren Davis in the 32nd Legislative District, saw their margins drop by about 5%, but still had comfortable victories.
Democrats currently outnumber Republicans 29-20 in the state Senate and 58-40 in the state House. It’s possible one or two Democrats — including Janet St. Clair, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Muzzall in District 10, which represents Island County and parts of Snohomish and Skagit counties — could pick up seats in the Legislature, but those races were too close to call, as of Tuesday. Muzzall led by just over 1,600 votes, as of Monday evening.
Voters also rejected three of the four statewide ballot initiatives backed by conservative political action committee Let’s Go Washington.
Washington was one of the only states in the country where Trump did not see significant improvement on his margins from 2020. He saw minimal gains in Snohomish County, where he received 38.6% of the vote compared to 37.9% in 2020.
Republicans see national excitement, local disappointment
Snohomish County Republican Party chair Bill Cooper celebrated the national election results, as Republicans carried the presidency and Senate, while having a good chance at maintaining control of the House.
While Cooper said “positive things are coming to America” following the election of Donald Trump, he was disappointed that “very good” state-level Republican candidates failed to flip many Democratic seats.
“I think there are going to be consequences,” Cooper said Monday. “Washington state is not going to move forward. I think it’s going to deteriorate, not at a massive level, but it will continue to deteriorate, and we’re going to continue to lose people out of the state.”
Washington’s population is growing, as it has for nearly four decades, although at a slower rate than in previous years. The state reached 8 million residents in April, with most of the growth in its five largest counties.
Cooper also claimed there is “literally no trust” in the state’s election system, and said counties should return to in-person voting, paper ballots and hand counting. He also said voters should have to provide proof of citizenship to vote.
It’s extremely rare for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections. A 2016 study by the Brennan Center for Justice found an estimated 30 instances of suspected non-citizen voting out of a total of 23.5 million ballots — a rate of 0.0001%.
Snohomish County’s election results have also consistently been validated by recounts and the county’s election facilities undergo frequent testing. In the August primary, a race for the commissioner of public lands was incredibly close — in the end, only 51 votes separated Democrat Dave Upthegrove and Republican Sue Kuehl Pederson — but the outcome remained the same after a recount, confirming the county’s results, Fell said in October.
Democrats look on the bright side
Snohomish County Democratic Party chair Monica Chilton focused on the positive results for Democrats.
“As far as the state of Washington and my county is concerned, we did our job,” Chilton said Tuesday.
Nationally, the night couldn’t have gone much worse for the party. But local results told a different story, as Democrats swept statewide offices and made strong showings in local legislative races. Some progressive ballot measures, like Everett’s minimum wage increase and implementation of legal protections for the Snohomish River Watershed, also passed.
“Regardless of what happens, we have some good people,” Chilton said Monday. “They’re really going to fight for the regular folks, and not be into corporate interests. They’re going to keep us protected and well served, and it’s really a good thing for the state of Washington.”
Despite disappointing national results, the Democratic party is set to do what needs to be done to prevent any “autocratic encroachment” from the new administration, Chilton said. She also stressed voters should avoid pointing fingers or being disrespectful, instead focusing on “doing what needs to be done in your own backyard.”
Ballots from overseas and military voters will still be counted in the coming weeks, Fell said. Election results are certified Nov. 26.
Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
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