Ballot returns statewide show lukewarm enthusiasm over Tuesday's primary election in Washington state.
As of Monday morning, roughly 15% of Washington voters returned ballots to their county elections offices. The number was slightly higher in King County, the state's most populous, at just under 16%.
"Does that speak to maybe a lack of passion around some of the elections," pondered KING 5 Political Analyst and former George W. Bush White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan.
"I think people have fatigue, people don't vote when they're tired. So I think that the low turnout, it may be in response, people just tired, they're just tired of it," suggested fellow KING 5 News Political Analyst and former three-term King County Executive Ron Sims.
King County Elections officials have publicly declared their goal of reaching 40% turnout for the primary, but may have to settle for numbers in the mid-30's, like the previous primaries in 2019 and 2017.
They're hoping it may just mean most voters haven't decided.
Turnout in Pierce County is 11.6%. The county's goal is 25%. Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson is confident the county will reach its goal in the days following the election.
Anderson believes there are several factors leading to low voter turnout. She says there's likely some voter fatigue following the 2020 presidential race, but she says people are also faced with other distractions.
"They may be distracted by other things in their lives, like an eviction moratorium coming to an end or new pandemic regulations and how it's going to affect their job, or they're getting their kids off to school. So, there's lots of things at play," Anderson said.
Seattle, Everett and Tacoma are among the cities casting ballots for mayor.
In Seattle, with the departure of Jenny Durkan, it is a wide-open race with double-digit candidates. Former Council President Bruce Harrell, current Council President Lorena Gonzalez, and former Chief Seattle Club Director Colleen Echohawk are seen as presumptive front runners based on fundraising, and limited polling.
Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes is facing a challenge from the left and right over his handling of public safety.
King County Executive Dow Constantine is also getting a strong challenge from State Senator Joe Nguyen.
There is also a nearly $900 million property tax levy, called "Best Starts for Kids," before the voters in King County, which has little to no formal opposition.
Yet, even with all those competitive races, and the importance of advancing to the top two general election, the returns have been slow.
McClellan suggests the Seattle mayor's race will be competitive, with the likelihood that a candidate may only need 15-17% of an already small vote to advance to the general.
"Maybe that favors someone that is a newcomer like Colleen Echohawk, who has run a pretty good campaign and can arguably be the candidate for change, because she's not one that has been on the city council before. This seems to be shaping up as a change election.
"Now, with that being said, when it's a lower turnout to like that, those with the name ID and those with the top fundraising ability, which are the two front-runners from the beginning - Harrell and Gonzales - might have the advantage as well with going into that kind of situation," McClellan said.
"I thought that they would, you know, see a a single candidate emerge. I haven't seen that single candidate," Sims said.
Ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, or in drop boxes by 8 p.m.
