King County Sees Surge In Early Voting: 2020 General Election

RENTON, WA — King County Elections is celebrating a record start to early voting, led by a surge in ballots returned to drop boxes over the weekend.

Ballots were mailed to 1.4 million registered voters on Oct. 14. By the end of Sunday, elections workers collected nearly 90,000 ballots from King County's 72 drop boxes, a spokesperson for King County Elections told Patch Monday. That number is almost nine times higher than the total logged during the first five days of the 2016 presidential election.

Teams of two visit each drop box location at least once per day, collecting up to 5,000 ballots for transport to the elections headquarters in Renton for counting. As the Seattle Times reports, activity over the weekend was so high that some locations had to be emptied more than once.

Related: King County Ballots Mailed: Here's What To Know For 2020

Here are some of the busiest drop box sites so far:

• Alaska Junction
• Ballard Branch Library
• Crossroads Shopping Center
• Redmond City Hall
• Issaquah City Hall
• Kirkland City Hall
• Broadview Library
• Mercer Island Community & Event Center
• Garfield Community Center
• Burien Town Square Park
• Sammamish City Hall

King County Elections is projecting record-breaking participation in the Nov. 3 General Election and has challenged voters to hit 90 percent turnout. Elections officials are encouraging voters to return their ballots by mail or drop box early, to help ensure the results available on election night reflect as many votes as possible. Those who choose to mail their ballots should aim to do so no later than the Friday before Election Day to ensure an on-time postmark.

Registered voters who have not received a ballot by Monday, Oct. 19 should contact King County Elections at 206-296-VOTE. Online and mail registration is open through Oct. 26, and in-person registration is possible until polls close on election night.

Once ballots are received and processed, voters can keep track of their progress online until it is officially counted. According to King County Elections, the timeframe between dropping off a ballot and seeing it marked as received can vary from one to three days, depending on volume.

Helpful links for King County voters:

• Register to vote or update registration online
• Find your nearest vote center
• Drop box locations
• Voters' pamphlet