Originally published Tuesday, November 3, 2009 at 12:08 AM
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Ballots trickle in; county's target: 56%
Voters have been sending in their ballots at a much slower rate than forecast, as King County wraps up its first vote-by-mail general election.
Seattle Times staff reporter
Secure voting
Voters in King and Snohomish counties can place their ballots in secure drop boxes until 8 p.m. No postage is required. The locations:King County
Auburn Library: 1102 Auburn Way S.
Library Connection at Crossroads: outside Suite K-11, 15600 N.E. Eighth St., Bellevue
Black Diamond Library: 24707 Roberts Drive
Covington Library: 27100 164th Ave. S.E.
Des Moines Library: 21620 11th Ave. S.
Earlington Business Center: 919 S.W. Grady Way, Renton
Fall City Library: 33415 S.E. 42nd Place
Federal Way Library: 848 S. 320th St.
Kent Regional Library: 212 Second Ave. N.
Lake Forest Park Library: near lower-level mall entrance, 17171 Bothell Way N.E.
King County Administration Building: 500 Fourth Ave., Seattle
White Center Library: 11220 16th S.W., Seattle
Woodinville Library: 17105 Avondale Road N.E.
Seattle Neighborhood Service Centers:
• Ballard, 5604 22nd Ave. N.W.
• Central, 2301 S. Jackson St.
• Delridge, 5405 Delridge Way S.W.
• Lake City, 12525 28th Ave. N.E.
• Southeast, 3815 S. Othello St.
• University, 4534 University Way N.E.
For directions and more information, see www.kingcounty.gov/elections/voting/ballotdropboxes.aspx.
Snohomish County
Snohomish County Campus: Rockefeller Avenue and Wall Street, Everett
For directions and more information, see www1.co.snohomish.wa.us/departments/auditor/divisions/elections_voting/ballot_drop_box.htm
Sources: King County Elections; Snohomish County Auditor
ELECTION 2009
For your ballot to count, the ballot it must be postmarked by today or returned to a drop box by 8 p.m. If you can't find your ballot, or have other questions:
Want to know more about a candidate or ballot measure before you vote?
For stories you might have missed, search by keyword at seattletimes.com or go to seattletimes.com/politics
For tonight's election returns check back at seattletimes.com after 8 p.m.
Voters have been sending in their ballots at a much slower rate than forecast, as King County wraps up its first vote-by-mail general election today.
County officials have predicted a turnout of 56 percent, pushed by competitive races between Dow Constantine and Susan Hutchison for county executive; Mike McGinn and Joe Mallahan for Seattle mayor; and high interest in state Referendum 71 and Initiative 1033.
Trends point to a 50 percent ballot-return rate, but the county is sticking with its higher forecast, said county elections-division spokeswoman Megan Coppersmith.
"We are thinking right now that people are waiting until the last minute, to choose one of the candidates," she said.
Ballots must be postmarked today or hand-delivered to a county drop-off site.
As of Saturday, only 218,436 ballots had arrived at the county elections division — or 20 percent of the 1.08 million sent out.
3 disability sites
King County has three sites where people with disabilities can vote, with help from staffers, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today. These are in Seattle at Union Station, 401 S. Jackson St.; in Tukwila at 9010 E. Marginal Way S. near Boeing Field; and Bellevue City Hall, 450 110th Ave. N.E.
People who lost their ballots may vote in person at these locations, which also will have drop boxes for people to use instead of mailing a ballot.
Statewide, the predicted 51 percent turnout also might not materialize.
"We've noticed soft and late returns coming in," said David Ammons, spokesman for Secretary of State Sam Reed. Participation is far below the record 85 percent in the 2008 presidential-year election.
"In many parts of the state, the caliber and interest value of the local contests is not what it is some years," Ammons said.
Gone is the election-night drama of past years — when votes from polling places were updated several times, to cheers or groans at candidate gatherings.
With an all-mail election, there will be only one release of vote totals from King County tonight, at 8:15. That will include ballots received as of Saturday and probably some from Monday.
Results will be updated throughout the week.
Mike Lindblom: 206-515-5631, mlindblom@seattletimes.com
