Ballots are slow to come in for the primary election

Ballot drop box at 192nd & Aurora Park & Ride
Photo by Steven H. Robinson

Less than 11% of the state’s nearly 4.9 million registered voters had returned their ballot as of Tuesday, July 29, 2024 according to data on the secretary of state’s website.

 
Mason County topped all counties with 19.2% turnout. King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Clark counties – four of the most populous in the state – were all at or below 10%.

Washington’s electorate may be moving slowly given the stakes and their role in narrowing the field to two finalists who will meet in the November general election.

For example, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, faces 10 opponents in her bid for re-election with Republican Raul Garcia viewed as the toughest challenger in the crowd

And 28 people are running to succeed Gov. Jay Inslee who is exiting after three terms. Of those, Democrats Bob Ferguson and Mark Mullet and Republicans Dave Reichert and Semi Bird are the frontrunners.

There also are races for eight other statewide executive posts and all 10 of Washington’s congressional districts.

On Tuesday, the secretary of state reported 522,899 ballots returned, or 10.7% of the state’s registered voters. Ballot return figures were updated at 5pm Tuesday.

--Jerry Cornfield, Washington State Standard