King County Elections (KCE) tweeted on Oct. 20 that it picked up an estimated 164,000 ballots from drop boxes in the first five days after mailing out the ballots.
“That’s more than 10x the previous record and is AMAZING. Keep ’em coming! We’re now picking up at least twice a day at all boxes with more for our higher traffic locations,” it said.
KCE mailed out nearly 1.4 million ballots to registered voters across King County last week for this year’s general election. King County is projecting 90% for this election, or approximately 1,287,000 ballots returned. This would be a record-breaking turnout with the previous high of 85% in 2012.
Director Julie Wise said, “Our state has layers upon layers of physical and cyber security measures in place to protect your vote and our elections. We’ve got this.”
Featuring an 18-inch ballot, this year’s election is comprised of 64 races, including a total of 118 federal and state candidates. There are 22 measures, with 16 local and six state. Included are state, county, city, school, and special purpose district measures.
If you haven’t already received your ballot, call KCE at 206-296-VOTE (8683). Ballots must be postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 3, or returned to one of the 73 ballot drop box locations across the county.
The deadline to register to vote online is Oct. 26. Voters can register and vote through 8 p.m. on Election Day at any of KCE’s Vote Center locations around King County.