WA Secretary of State confident we’ll see meaningful results on election night
Nov 3, 2020, 1:00 PM
Millions of people have already cast their ballots in Washington state and the Secretary of State’s Office is thrilled about the turnout.
How to vote last minute in Washington state
Secretary of State Kim Wyman told KIRO Radio’s Gee and Ursula we have the highest turnout she’s probably ever seen in our state.
“As of yesterday (Monday), we have already received more ballots back than we did entirely in 2016.”
That’s 3.5 million ballots received by Monday before Election Day. In 2016, the state certified the election with 3.3 million ballots.
Besides record-breaking participation, Wyman said she’s most proud of the election system that Washington state has built.
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“The 39 county election officials and county auditors have worked really hard for decades to bring us to this moment. And in the COVID-19 environment — we were preparing for cyber security attacks, we had continuity of operation plans and all of those things went into effect in the midst of a pandemic.”
Wyman said election officials have really stepped up and are focused on getting results back to voters as quickly as possible. She said it won’t be perfect, but elections never are.
The vitriol from both sides is like nothing Wyman has ever seen before, but she says Washington state’s system is the most secure and accessible system in the country, so her confidence is unwavering.
Because voters voted early this year, Wyman said counties have had about a week of extra time to process ballots and get them ready for tonight.
“I think we’re going to see the most meaningful results on Election night than we’ve seen in many years,” Wyman said.
Julie Wise, with King County Elections, has said they’re planning on counting over a million ballots Tuesday night.
“That’s huge when that’s a third of the state’s voters,” Wyman said.
If you’ve already voted, you can track your ballot here.
Wyman is running for re-election this year. Her challenger is Rep. Gael Tarleton, a Democrat from Seattle.
