Tri-Cities voter turnout far below 2020. Here’s where & when to get your ballot in
Half of registered voters in the Tri-Cities had returned their ballots by Monday for the Nov. 5 presidential election, according to statistics published Monday evening.
More than 83,000 ballots at that point had been submitted between Benton and Franklin counties. That’s 47% of the nearly 178,000 registered voters who were mailed ballots this election.
Turnout so far was about 47% in Benton County and 48% in Franklin County.
That’s lower than it was four years ago during the 2020 election. The day before that election, about 70% of all voters in both Benton and Franklin counties had turned in their ballots.
That year, 82% of Benton County voters and 78% of Franklin County voters weighed in on the 2020 general election.
8 p.m. vote deadline
Voters have until 8 p.m. on election day to fill out those ballots and drop them in a county-certified drop box. If you’re hoping to use the mail to return a ballot, election officials caution that it might be too late for it to be postmarked to count.
Election officials already have begun processing and scanning ballots.
You can register to vote up until 8 p.m. at your county elections office.
After polls close at 8 p.m., election officials around the state will begin tallying the votes.
Since many ballots already are scanned, it takes computers only a few seconds to total up the votes. First results from the election will begin coming in shortly after the polls close.
You can find those live results and coverage of the races after 8 p.m. at tricityherald.com.
Some races might be tight on election night, and may require the counting of additional ballots submitted on election day to parse the winner.
About 800 ballots in the Tri-Cities have been challenged, mostly for mismatched or missing signatures. Voters need to contact their local auditor’s office as soon as possible to “cure” their challenged ballot so it can be counted.
You can check the status of your ballot online at votewa.gov.
County canvassers will certify the 2024 results by Tuesday, Nov. 26. The Washington Secretary of State’s Office will certify the state election results by Thursday, Dec. 5.
This story was originally published November 4, 2024 at 7:00 PM.
