More than half of Washington ballots received

Elections officials have received more than half of the ballots of all registered voters in Washington state who mailed or dropped off their ballots by the 8 p.m. Election Day deadline on Tuesday.

The Washington Secretary of State's office reports that 53.4 percent of the more than 4.3 million registered voters have been returned as of 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Garfield County in southeastern Washington state leads in early-bird voters, with 76.5 percent of ballots already received, while Seattle's King County was ahead of the statewide average with its tally at 56.3 percent.

Washington is a vote-by-mail state, and voters still have time to have their ballot placed in a secure drop box.

In 2014, 54.16 percent of registered voters sent in their ballots, according to the Secretary of State's website.