Don’t expect close races to be settled on Election Night
Nov 5, 2012, 7:39 AM | Updated: 8:58 am
Election officials say it could be days or even weeks before they can call some of Washington state's closest races. (AP Photo/file)
(AP Photo/file)
With the Washington governor’s race still a virtual dead heat in the polls and several other high profile races on the ballot too-close-to-call, election officials and political experts say there’s a good chance we won’t know the results of the tight races any time soon.
Officials say more than 1.5 million ballots have already been returned, but another 1.5 million are expected to come flooding in by the deadline, The Seattle Times reports. Since ballots are valid as long they are postmarked by Nov. 6, it could take days for election offices to process enough to declare a winner.
Secretary of State Sam Reed predicts 81 percent turnout by the state’s 3.9 million registered voters, but officials will only be able to count about 60 percent of the ballots on Election Day.
Both Democrats and Republicans say they’ll have attorneys standing by in case there’s a need for a legal challenge, like in 2004, when Democratic Christine Gregoire edged Republican Dino Rossi by 133 votes after a court challenge and two recounts.
Most counties plan to release their initial vote count soon after polls close between 8 and 9 p.m. and then update their totals each weekday until the Nov. 27 deadline.
Complete results will be available here at MyNorthwest.com as they are released.
Tune into KIRO Radio’s election night coverage including in-depth analysis from Dave Ross, Luke Burbank, Dori Monson, Michael Medved, and news anchor Linda Thomas beginning at 6 p.m. on KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and 770 KTTH The Truth.
Watch live in-studio video of the whole night’s events at MyNorthwest.com.
