Voter turnout expected to be low in important Wash. election
Nov 7, 2023, 7:33 AM | Updated: Nov 8, 2023, 8:41 am
Voter drops her ballot in West Seattle. (Photo: James Lynch/成人X站 Newsradio)
(Photo: James Lynch/成人X站 Newsradio)
Despite ballots packed with important races and initiatives, the Secretary of State’s office told 成人X站 Newsradio only 40% of registered voters are expected to cast ballots.
That number is expected to be lower in the three-county region of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.
said that with 24 hours left before ballot boxes close, voter turnout is abysmal across Washington state. Of the 3,850,467 voters in Washington, only 541,577 have been returned ballots, a rate of just 14.1%.
It鈥檚 known as an off-year election or odd-year election.
With no national candidates on the ballot, a lot of voters are choosing to stay home without filling out a ballot. Or, they complain about not having time to vote.
Related news: Future of Seattle politics at stake in Tuesday election
Still, at one busy Seattle drop in West Seattle, there is a steady stream of cars and walk-up traffic with voters eager to drop their ballot.
鈥淲e need to get a lot more people out to vote because we have a lot of important issues,” voter Matt Carson said. “We got taxes. We got school boards, city council, so if you鈥檙e a Seattlite, it鈥檚 an important election.”
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鈥� James L. (@James_成人X站Radio)
鈥淚 think we need to make Seattle safer and to do that I think we need to have the right people on the City Council,鈥� voter Ann Marrs said.
In Seattle, as many as 8 of 9 city council seats could change. In Snohomish County, an executive is up for grabs and the mayor of Edmonds will be decided. In Pierce County, several small-town mayors will be voted on.
Elections officials told 成人X站 Newsradio we are fortunate that voting is made easy in Washington.
Ballot box info: Find your closest ballot drop box in King, Snohomish, Pierce Counties
Ballots are mailed out, they can be mailed in, and there are drop boxes everywhere. Still, some voters see a trend that is alienating voters.
鈥淭he reality is like when you have a system that doesn鈥檛 really encourage people to vote, you鈥檙e gonna get lower numbers like that,鈥� voter Cole Kordoos said.
Contributing: Bill Kaczaraba/MyNorthwest
