Voters in Washington will cast ballots in a major midterm election on Tuesday, with key decisions on initiatives to repeal a statewide income tax on high earners and bar transgender girls from competing in girls sports in public schools. The election also includes races for five of the nine seats on the state Supreme Court, a rare opportunity to shape the bench that will soon consider changes to bail rules and could eventually decide the legality of the income tax.
In the Legislature, all 98 seats in the state House and 24 of 49 in the state Senate are up for election. Democrats hold large majorities in both chambers, and voters’ decisions could further cement their control. Washington’s 10 U.S. House seats are on the ballot, with significant attention focused on the 3rd Congressional District in the southwest corner of the state. There, two-term Democratic U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez is competing against Republican state Sen. John Braun in a race that could influence which party controls the U.S. House next year.
Residents of the 4th Congressional District in central Washington will elect a new representative. Republican Amanda McKinney and Democrat John Duresky are vying to succeed Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, who is retiring after 12 years in office.
Voting ends at 8 p.m. Tuesday. Voters must have their ballots in a designated drop box, delivered to an elections office, or postmarked no later than Nov. 3. As of Monday afternoon, 1,834,247 ballots had been returned, representing 35.5% of the state’s registered voters. Statewide numbers will be updated around 5 p.m. Monday. Secretary of State Steve Hobbs said he expects final turnout will exceed 60%.
State and county election officers have urged voters to use one of Washington’s 601 designated drop boxes or cast their ballots in person at one of 64 voting centers. Officials noted that 71.5% of ballots returned prior to the weekend arrived via a drop box. Election officials are concerned that recent changes in the U.S. Postal Service’s operations mean it can no longer guarantee ballots will be postmarked on the day they are placed in a mailbox. Roughly 20,000 ballots cast in the August primary did not get counted because they arrived too late.
Officials have advised anyone thinking of mailing their ballot today or on Election Day to go into the post office and request a manual postmark at the counter. It is not too late to participate. Washington allows same-day voting, meaning a person can go into an auditor’s office or a voting center, register, and cast a ballot up until 8 p.m. on Election Day. It is also possible to get a replacement for a lost ballot or obtain a ballot if one was never received. Anyone standing in line to vote at 7:59 p.m. or in a car waiting to use a drop box will get to vote. Arriving after 8 p.m. will not allow voting.
