45th District Race Between Englund, Dhingra Draws Most Voters In King County

WOODINVILLE, WA - Primary elections aren't known for high turnout, but several races in the 2017 King County primary show how engaged - or disengaged - voters are across the county. Renton had the lowest turnout of any city with candidates on the ballot, while the 45th Legislative District, home of the important state Senate race between Republican Jinyoung Lee Englund and Democrat Manka Dhingra, had the highest turnout.

About 22 percent of Renton voters turned out for the primary this year, which featured two City Council races. That is, however, higher than the 2015 August primary, when turnout in Renton was about 17.5 percent.

Turnout in the 45th Legislative District was about 41.5 percent, and more than half of voters counted so far voted for Dhingra.

The average turnout across King County was about 34 percent, which means only about 1 in 3 voters cast a ballot in the primary. Cities with above-average turnout were Mercer Island, Redmond, and Kirkland.

Although there are still ballots to be counted, enough have been returned by Thursday afternoon to get a clear picture of turnout, according to King County Elections spokesman Kendall Hodson.

Here's where turnout stands as of Thursday afternoon from highest to lowest:

1. Legislative District No. 45 - 41.5%
2. City of Seattle - 40.3%
3. Seattle School District No. 1 - 40.3%
4. City of Snoqualmie - 39.2%
5. City of Mercer Island - 38.6%
6. Mercer Island School District No. 400 - 38.6%
7. Legislative District No. 37 - 36.9%
8. Lake Washington School District No. 414 - 36.6%
9. City of Redmond - 34.4%
10. City of Kirkland - 34.4%
11. King County 33.7%
12. Port of Seattle - 33.7%
13. City of Sammamish - 33.3%
14. City of Black Diamond - 32.4%
15. City of Shoreline - 31.9%
16. City of Kenmore - 31.9%
17. Legislative District No. 48 - 31.8%
18. City of Burien - 31.3%
19. City of Issaquah - 30.9%
20. City of Bellevue - 30.8%
21. City of Des Moines - 30.0%
22. King County Fire Protection District No. 43 - 29.7%
23. Legislative District No. 31 - 29.2%
24. East Pierce Fire & Rescue - 28.1%
25. City of Enumclaw - 28.0%
26. City of Auburn - 26.5%
27. Soos Creek Water and Sewer District - 26.3%
28. Kent School District No. 415 - 25.8%
29. City of Kent - 25.4%
30. City of Tukwila - 25.4%
31. Public Hospital District No. 1 - 25.1%
32. City of Federal Way - 25.1%
33. City of SeaTac - 23.4%
34. City of Renton - 22.8%

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