SEATTLE — Ballots are now making their way to 1.4 million King County voters for the upcoming midterm elections.
For this voting cycle, King County Elections rolled out its new ballot tracking system.
Previously, voters have been able to track when their ballot is mailed and when it’s counted.
Now, voters can sign up for email or text alerts that will keep them updated during the entire process.
“When we've marked their ballot as received. They'll get that alert again, when their ballots have been counted, and they'll be alert if there's an issue with their signature, which is going to be the fastest way to find out about it so you don't have to wait for that letter in the mail,” said Halei Watkins, Communications Officer at King County Elections.
The goal is to give voters peace of mind that their ballot counts.
A lower turnout is anticipated for the 2022 November general election.
“We are projecting 72% turnout in this election. That's about a million ballots back or so out of our 1.4 million voters,” said Watkins.
That’s slightly lower than the 2018 midterms with 76% voter turnout. Some of that projection is based on a lower turnout for the 2022 primaries.
King County voters have been casting their ballots by mail for a decade. As election security is top of mind for voters, King County has new transparency measures to boost their confidence.
“We have long had a robust bipartisan observer program here at King County Elections. This election for the first time we're welcoming in non-partisan or non-politically affiliated voters,” Watkins said.
King County Elections is partnering with the League of Women Voters to help train them to watch the election process. This year there will be four Democrat, four Republican, and four nonpartisan observers. Voters can also watch 24/7 live streams at 11 locations.
“We find that there's no better tool to letting folks know how our elections work than in fact letting them in and showing them the process. We find that even the most skeptical observers, the folks with the most questions, sometimes walk away the most impressed and our biggest advocates out in the community,” said Watkins.
If voters have not received a ballot by Monday, King County Elections said to call 206- 296-VOTES.
People have until October 31 to register to vote online or by mail. After that deadline, you have to go in person to the elections office to register.