Secretary of State: Voter registration will near 5 million by November

PIERCE COUNTY - Voter registration and turnout figures are expected to break records this presidential election. In Pierce County, voters believe this is the most important election of their lifetime.

“I think it’s almost the most important thing you can be doing right now,” said Holly Klindt of Tacoma. “I think there are so many huge problems in the country right now that need to be addressed and this is our chance to fix them. We get a chance every four years and this is the time to do it.”

“We have a lot of people disenfranchised, and a lot of people struggling and hurting and I think it’s important to make your voice heard and make it count,” said Kyleigh Palmer of Tacoma.

Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson told Q13 News between 22 to 25 thousand new voter registrations were logged since March. She’s expecting voter registration totals to reach about 550 thousand by election time.

The customer service team has recently received many questions from voters requesting an absentee ballot, which Anderson believes is confusion created by news headlines around the country about voting early.

“In Washington we’re 100 percent vote by mail, so we’re all absentee voters and you don’t need to do anything except be registered and keep your address up to date. Leave the driving to us. We’re going to be sending you a ballot automatically,” said Anderson.

Ballots are going to be mailed out by October 16. Anderson said give it a couple days to reach your house, and if you don’t receive a timely ballot, call your local elections office. Election workers can track down your ballot, or set you up with a replacement ballot.

The Secretary of State Kim Wyman told Q13 News there are more than 4.7 million registered voters in Washington, and she expects that number to soar higher.

“I anticipate we’ll be close to five million by the time we get through this election,” said Wyman.

A helpful resources for voters in Washington is the state website VoteWA.gov.

Voters can check their registration and later confirm the ballot was received, approved and counted on the website.

“Go onto votewa.gov and check registration status. A lot of times people assume they’re registered, and they probably are, but we want to make sure we get the right ballot to the right address,” said Secretary Wyman.

In Pierce County, drive-thru registration and voting is available to the public on October 31 and November 2 and 3, but election administrators are urging everyone to plan ahead.

“Be a hero to us and other election workers by not waiting until the last minute,” said Anderson.

Q13 News will stay on top of the 2020 Elections. Check back for updates.