Nearly 1.7 Million Washington Voters Have Cast Ballots; 32.84% Return Rate Tops 2022
On November 1, data released by the Washington Secretary of State's office in Olympia, Thurston County, showed that with four days left before the November 3 election, nearly 1.7 million voters statewide had already cast ballots, an early return pace slightly above the last midterm election. As of Friday, October 30, of the state's 5,165,860 registered voters, 1,696,308 had returned ballots, a return rate of 32.84%, slightly above the 32.2% recorded at the same point in the 2022 midterms.
By age, voters 65 and older had the highest return rate at 58.1%, while voters aged 18 to 24 were at only 13.3%. By return method, 70.42% of voters used an official drop box and 28.85% returned ballots by mail. The vast majority of ballots have been accepted; another 10,695 ballots, about 0.63% of those returned, have been challenged, mainly for signature mismatches (6,122) and missing signatures (2,731), with a further 652 under review.
The deadlines for online and mail registration have passed, and residents who are not yet registered must register in person at a local elections office. Election officials recommended using a local drop box rather than the mail to ensure ballots arrive on time. On November 1, voters were still coming to cast ballots at the Ballard Public Library voting site in Seattle. The Secretary of State's ballot return statistics dashboard carries the latest figures.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 华盛顿州的选票投递箱（资料图）。Joe Mabel摄，CC BY-SA 4.0，经Wikimedia Commons。 / A ballot drop box in Washington state (file photo). Photo by Joe Mabel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
