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RENTON, Wash. - King County election officials are urging voters to utilize ballot drop boxes as operations ramp up ahead of Election Day, and they report strong turnout coming out of the final weekend of voting.
What they're saying:
"I think it's as usual for voters and they should get out there and make their voice heard," said Julie Wise, director of King County Elections. "We're already seeing some really promising numbers."
Nearly 500,000 ballots have arrived at King County Elections headquarters, as of Monday morning. Administrators anticipate overall turnout could reach 75%, representing approximately 1.1 million ballots cast across the county.
Voters planning to use the U.S. Postal Service should not use a standard mailbox and instead take their ballot inside a post office. Wise said to make sure it is postmarked by staff in front of them.
Voters can also still use one of 100 official ballot drop boxes located throughout King County up until Tuesday night at 8 p.m.
"99% of our voters live within just a three-mile radius of one of our 100 drop boxes, utilize those today and tomorrow," Wise said.
Big picture view:
King County also operates six in-person vote centers for residents who might need assistance or prefer to cast their ballots in person.
This year, election monitors from the U.S. Department of Justice and King County will also have members of the Washington National Guard acting as a neighborhood watch, as provided by the governor.
"These folks are just doing their due diligence of checking our election system and making sure that we're following federal laws," Wise said. "I don't have any concerns into Election Day."
Wise noted that her team regularly conducts tabletop scenario exercises and adheres strictly to hundreds of election laws. Every signature on a returned ballot envelope is checked against the voter registration file before processing.
Fewer than 1% of ballots in King County and statewide have faced signature challenges as of the latest ballot totals available Monday morning on the Secretary of State's website.
Dig deeper:
When an issue arises, elections staff notify the voter by phone, email, or physical mail. Voters enrolled in ballot-tracking text alerts receive the fastest notification. You have until three weeks after Election Day to resolve or "cure" signature discrepancies, a process that can be completed online in King County.
We have prepared for this election," Wise said when asked to reassure voters about a safe and secure election. "We're ready to have them and ready to see them."
The Source: Information for this story came from original reporting by FOX 13 Seattle reporter Shawn Chitnis, who spoke with King County Elections Director Julia Wise
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