Turnout for historic election breaks county and state records

OLYMPIA — Voters electrified by a historic duel for president and heated rematch for governor showed up in record numbers in Snohomish County and throughout the state for the Nov. 4 election.

Nearly 3.1 million people cast ballots in Washington, the most in state history. They represent a turnout of 84.61 percent of the state’s registered voters, the best performance since 1936, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

“This has been an amazing year for our country and our state, and it is clear that Washington voters were enthused and engaged to a degree we’ve never seen before. They registered, they listened, they got involved and they voted,” Secretary of State Sam Reed said in a statement Tuesday.

All-mail balloting, a fixture in 37 of 39 counties, provided a further boost because it made it even easier by putting ballots in the hands of voters, state elections director Nick Handy said.

“When you make it convenient, you will increase participation,” he said.

Snohomish County tallied a new high of 324,179 ballots and posted a turnout of 87 percent, the third best in its history. The county record is 88.71 percent set in 1932 when there were roughly 36,000 registered voters.

“People were excited,” Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Weikel said. “From our experience here at the county building, you could sense the excitement of people who were lined up to vote on machines.”

President-elect Barack Obama beat Sen. John McCain in Washington by a margin of 57.6 percent to 40.5 percent. Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire won re-­election with 53.2 percent of the vote in beating Republican Dino Rossi.

In Snohomish County, Obama captured 58.5 percent and Gregoire garnered 52.7 percent. That was a turnaround for Gregoire, who lost to Rossi in the county in 2004.

Nationally, Washington performed well or very well compared to other states depending on what means of measurement is used.

Washington, Oregon and Wyoming led the nation in percentage of ballots cast by registered voters, according to research by the Secretary of State’s Office.

This state is also above the national average for the rate of turnout among the voting eligible population, a category that includes every person of voting age who is eligible but are not registered and thus don’t cast ballots.

Roughly 66.6 percent of all those eligible to vote in Washington did cast a ballot in the race for president, according to preliminary figures compiled and posted online Monday by the United States Election Project at George Mason University. The preliminary nationwide figure was 61.4 percent.

Historically, the number of voters and ballots cast increases in presidential election years, and that happened again this year.

As of Tuesday, 3,071,539 ballots were counted compared to 2,884,783 in 2004.

Notably, hundreds of felons didn’t participate this time like in 2004. Then, the counties and the state lacked any effective means of tracking names of people convicted of felonies. Now, with the aid of a statewide voter database tied to court records, names of convicted felons and deceased voters are regularly purged.

David Ammons, spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office, said 450,000 names have been scrubbed from voter rolls since 2006. Even after that purge, the state wound up with 120,000 more registered voters than in 2004.

Snohomish County saw its voter rolls swell to 372,636, of which roughly 48,000 were new voters. Nearly a third of them signed up in September and October, county election officials said.

Amid the increase, there have been no reports of any major muffs in the conduct of the elections and the counting of the ballots, said Handy and Weikel.

“From an election administration perspective, it was a remarkably smooth and uneventful election,” Handy said.

Controversy enveloped the process four years ago with reports of misplaced ballots and recognition that hundreds of counted ballots had been cast illegally by felons and in the name of deceased voters.

Snohomish County in 2004 also had the embarrassment of finding a tray of 224 ballots during the mandatory machine recount of the governor’s race. Those ballots did not get counted in the first tally.

Weikel said nothing like that has occurred this year, though election workers did discover that 24 people voted twice by turning in their mail ballot and voting on a touch-screen machine set up at the county and area libraries during the election. Their names will be sent to the prosecuting attorney’s office for review and possible action, she said.

Reporter Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Frank DeMiero founded and directed the Seattle Jazz Singers, a semi-professional vocal group. They are pictured here performing at the DeMiero Jazz Festival. (Photos courtesy the DeMiero family)
‘He dreamed out loud’: Remembering music educator Frank DeMiero

DeMiero founded the music department at Edmonds College and was a trailblazer for jazz choirs nationwide.

Provided photo 
Tug Buse sits in a period-correct small ship’s boat much like what could have been used by the Guatamozin in 1803 for an excursion up the Stillaguamish River.
Local historian tries to track down historic pistol

Tug Buse’s main theory traces back to a Puget Sound expedition that predated Lewis and Clark.

Archbishop Murphy High School on Friday, Feb. 28 in Everett, Washington. (Will Geschke / The Herald)
Former teacher charged with possession of child pornography

Using an online investigation tool, detectives uncovered five clips depicting sexual exploitation of minors.

A person waits in line at a pharmacy next to a sign advertising free flu shots with most insurance on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Have you had the flu yet, Snohomish County? You’re not alone.

The rate of flu-related hospitalizations is the highest it’s been in six years, county data shows, and there are no signs it will slow down soon.

City of Everett Principal Engineer Zach Brown talks about where some of the piping will connect to the Port Gardner Storage Facility, an 8-million-gallon waste water storage facility, on Thursday, Feb. 27, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Port Gardner Storage Facility will allow Everett to meet state outflow requirements

The facility will temporarily store combined sewer and wastewater during storm events, protecting the bay from untreated releases.

Founder of Snohomish County Indivisible Naomi Dietrich speaks to those gather for the senator office rally on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Membership numbers are booming for Snohomish County’s Indivisible chapter

Snohomish County’s Indivisible chapter, a progressive action group, has seen… Continue reading

Lynnwood
Police: Man fired gun into Alderwood Mall to steal $20K in sneakers

The man allegedly shot through mall entrances and stole high-end merchandise before reselling it

A car drives along Lockwood Road in front of Lockwood Elementary School pas the new flashing crosswalk on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024 in Bothell, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett responds to higher traffic deaths with ‘Vision Zero’ goal

Officials are pushing for lower speed limits, safer crossings and community input to curb fatalities on city roads.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Snohomish County schools react to education department firings

The Department of Education announced Tuesday it will lay off more than 1,300 employees.

Lynnwood
Lynnwood City Council eyes path forward at contentious meeting

The council discussed how to move forward in filling its vacancy after Jessica Roberts withdrew Thursday.

Everett Transit Director Mike Schmieder talks about how the buses are able to lower themselves onto the induction chargers on Monday, March 10, 2025 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett Transit set to sell nine electric buses

The buses, built by a now-bankrupt company, had reliability issues for years. The agency’s 10 other electric buses don’t have those problems.

Camano Island Fire & Rescue chooses new chief

Jason Allen, who has worked at the district since 1999, will replace outgoing Fire Chief Levon Yengoyan.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.