Lincoln County tops Washington state's primary turnout

LINCOLN COUNTY – Last week the Washington Secretary of State certified the primary election, announcing the 2020 voter turnout rate was the highest on record for a Primary since 1964 when over 840,000 people voted, representing a 56.06% turnout. This year more than 2.51 million people or 54.44% of all registered voters in Washington cast their ballots.

“It’s gratifying to see that voters are excited, engaged, and eager to exercise their right to vote and make their voices heard,” said Assistant Secretary of State Mark Neary. “We look forward to serving the people of Washington state and conducting another safe, secure, and accessible election this fall.”

However, Lincoln County bested the state turnout with 64 percent of voters participating in the primary election. Of the 7,683 voters in Lincoln County, 4,936 ballots were returned as of the Aug. 18 certification.

Unlike other counties that had issues with late ballots, Lincoln County only had roughly 40 ballots that did not make the Aug. 4 deadline.

Lincoln County Elections Deputy Norm Caley said voters have to be careful to not push the deadline.

“It’s really best not to wait until the last minute and if you vote on election day, make sure you take your ballot into the post office and have the clerk hand stamp it for that day,” he advised.

The high voter turnout in Lincoln County not only exceeded the overall state turnout, but it was also a jump in participation from the last presidential election. In 2016, 43 percent of Lincoln County voters submitted their ballots.

“With primary elections, we usually see a little but less turnout but this year was a 21 percent jump over the last presidential primary,” Caley noted.

The general election is set for Nov. 3. The Office of the Secretary of State encourages people to visit VoteWA.gov to check and update their voter registration record or register to vote. Online and mail-in voter registrations must be received by Oct. 26 in order to participate in the 2020 General Election. After Oct. 26, new registrations or changes must be done in person at a county elections office or voting center.