Local races have direct impact on daily lives for Washington voters

With few major issues or races on the ballot, the general election in 2021 may feel like an off-year election, but it could also have a bigger impact on your daily life than 2020’s presidential vote.

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“Really, this is a hyper local election,” Washington State Elections Director Lori Augino said. “Voters are voting on things like cities, schools, fire, water districts, park districts.”

If you’re not necessarily excited about your local park district race, Augino says you should at least give some of your attention to these local races and issues.

“Definitely some of these races have a direct impact on the daily lives of our voters here across Washington,” Augino said.

Those races are for school board members who set policy, to port commissioners who spend money, to mayors and council members who run your city.

“Certainly the mayor’s race in Seattle is a hot race, but there are 131 mayor races happening across Washington,” Augino added.

Yet, Augino predicts we’ll be lucky to see a 40% voter turnout statewide, less than half of the turnout of last year’s presidential race. That record turnout in 2020 is a high bar to meet.

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Augino says voters can be a little burned out on politics after a presidential year, but they may also just simply not be familiar with the issues and races on their local ballots.

She said your voters’ pamphlet or county elections office is a great source for that information.

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