King County Elections Estimates Election Night Count

King County voters have been returning their ballots at a steady pace since the first day voting began in the August Primary Election. As of today, about 220,000 ballots have been returned to the Elections Department.

"The early returns have been very helpful to us in preparing for Election Day," said Elections Director Sherril Huff. "I'm estimating a count of about 230,000 ballots in the results report on Tuesday night." This means that some of the Election Night results will include ballots mailed in over the weekend that typically don't make it into the first round of results reporting. King County is estimating a total election return of about 495,000 ballots, or 45 percent of voters.

Voters should remember to sign the oath on the back of the return envelope and to get their ballot in the mail by Election Day, August 17. Voters can also return their ballots to a ballot drop box location until 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.

"This is also a time when we reach out to voters who have forgotten to sign their ballots or who have a problem with their signature," noted Huff. "So if you are contacted by the Elections Department, be sure to follow up as soon as possible, even if Election Day has passed." Ballots returned on time can still be counted if signature problems are resolved before the election is certified later in the month.

Election results will be reported on the Elections website, www.kingcounty.gov/elections, at 8:15 p.m. on August 17, and updated on subsequent days at 4:30 p.m. Voters can also visit the website to track their ballot and confirm that it has been received by Elections.