Whatcom County election officials said they might see a large influx of ballots on Tuesday, the final day of voting for the 2022 general election.
Turnout so far is lower than at this stage during the last midterm election four years ago, county Auditor Diana Bradrick said in an interview Monday morning. The Secretary of State’s ballot return statistics webpage showed 36.6% of Whatcom County ballots had been returned by Friday.
While early returns are lagging behind the numbers seen in 2018, Whatcom County is still outpacing the state as a whole, which was seeing a 32% turnout on Friday. Statewide turnout is also depressed compared to the 2018 midterms, The Seattle Times reported.
Bradrick said she never speculates on why turnout might be up or down in a given election. Any of a number of reasons could be in play, she said, while making it clear these were just examples, not her own theories: Voters might still be weighing some of the races or other measures on the Nov. 8 ballot. Or they simply might not be as inclined to vote in this cycle.
“I hope that’s not the case,” Bradrick said.
The auditor said some voters are getting the message that they should wait until Election Day to vote, and should go to the Auditor’s Office in person on Tuesday and request a fresh ballot.
This message has been voiced strongly in Skagit County, Bradrick said. The chairman of the Skagit County Republican Party told Cascadia Daily News last week that some canvassers are encouraging people to vote on the last day to prevent Democrats from casting illegal votes to turn the elections in their favor — a theory that isn’t supported by evidence.
“If they’re hearing that [in Whatcom County] and they decide to jump on that bandwagon, we could be seeing a lot of ballots tomorrow,” Bradrick said, “and we could be seeing an unusually high number of people coming in requesting replacement ballots.”
If enough voters take that action, election results could be delayed, the auditor said. In particular, people may be less confident about declaring a winner after the initial vote totals are released Tuesday evening.
So far, elections in Whatcom County have been peaceful, despite reports from King County that Republican activists were planning surveillance of ballot boxes during the primaries.
As of Monday, multiple law enforcement agencies — the county Sheriff’s Office, and Bellingham, Lynden, Ferndale and Blaine police — all reported no incidents of intimidation or threats of other unusual activity around the ballot boxes in those jurisdictions.
Election officials remind voters to drop off ballots at official ballot boxes throughout the county, or in person at the elections office, by 8 p.m. on Tuesday. People who are in line by 8 p.m. will still be allowed to vote.
Officials advise against dropping ballots in the mail because they might not be postmarked in time to be considered valid.
This story was updated at 9:16 a.m. on Nov. 8 to report that people who are in line at a ballot box by 8 p.m. Tuesday will be allowed to turn in their ballots.
