OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state voters should have their ballots for the general election soon if they haven't received them already.
Oct. 21 marks the start of the 18-day voting period. Ballots are mailed at least 18 days before each election.
Voters in King County can expect their ballots to be mailed to them by Wednesday, Oct. 19. Voters who live overseas or are serving in the armed forces get their ballots even earlier: 30 days before a special election and 45 days before a primary or general election.
Voter turnout for the 2022 primary election across the state reached 40.43%, according to the secretary of state's office. Of the 4,803,728 registered voters, 1,941,933 returned their ballots.
In 2020, when Joe Biden was challenging Donald Trump for the presidency, voter turnout reached 54.44% during the primary election and 84.11% in the general election.
Several hot-button races will show up on the November ballot.
Senator Patty Murray, who is seeking her sixth term in the U.S. Senate, is being challenged by Republican Tiffany Smiley. Murray, a Democrat, received 52% of the vote during the primary, while Smiley received 34%.
Candidates for all 10 Congressional districts are on the ballot, including District 3 in southwest Washington where Democratic candidate Marie Gluesenkamp Perez faces Republican candidate Joe Kent. Both incumbents advanced through the primary, with Jamie Herrera Beutler conceding. Herrera Beutler, a Republican, held the District 3 seat since 2010.
Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, is attempting to hang on to the office for the remaining two years of former Secretary of State Kim Wyman's four-year term. Hobbs was appointed by Gov. Jay Inslee after Wyman left for a job with the Biden administration. It's the first time Democrats regained hold of the office in decades.