Latest news with #HaleiWatkins
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ballot counting continues in King County as Primary Election 2025 results roll in
In the wake of Primary Election Day in King County, ballots and results are still trickling in. King County Election Spokesperson Halei Watkins said the final results won't be called until at least Friday, since at least 130,000 ballots still need to be counted. 'If you wait until election night to vote, which many folks do, it can take a little longer if you're in that big crush of last-minute ballots,' Watkins said. Officials say about 400,000 people in King County voted, creating quite the task for their counting machines. 'It takes about 24 hours for a ballot to make it all the way through the process from when it's scanned in as received, to signature verified, to when it's been opened, and finally going through the tabulation system,' Watkins said. 'It takes about a day or so.' She tells us they can count around 50,000 ballots per day. 'We are bracing for a long week ahead. What we see is, typically, returns come in on a steady basis, then we get almost 50% of ballots back on Election Day alone,' Watkins said. She tells us they are happy with the primary election turnout. 'We will see a 35% turnout, that is right in line with what we've seen in the previous Primaries in 2021 and 2023 elections,' Watkins said. But just because you dropped your ballot in the box doesn't mean you should forget about it. 'Make sure to track your ballot until it's counted after you voted. That's great, you took that first step to drop it off, but track it through the ballots being counted,' said Watkins. You can do that here: She tells us the results will be certified after the August 19th deadline for any challenged ballots. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ahead of next week's primary election, voter turnout is low in King County
This story was originally published on Washington's primary election is Tuesday, August 5. So far, voter turnout is low in King County. Only 10% of the ballots have been returned so far, according to Halei Watkins, Communications Manager at King County Elections. She expects the final turnout to be approximately 35%, which she said is pretty strong when compared to numbers nationwide. 'Now, that doesn't mean it's good enough,' Watkins told 'The Gee and Ursula Show' on KIRO Newsradio. 'We would like to see it much, much higher, and folks should absolutely take that step and make their voices heard.' Presidential elections tend to have much higher turnouts than primaries or special elections. However, primaries are important too, Watkins said. Primary election has big impact 'It's these local races that really have a big impact on our day-to-day lives and on our communities,' she said. 'So, the primary gives us an opportunity to weigh in and pick our top two candidates to move forward to November, and it's really important to get out there and make your voices heard.' One reason she believes turnout tends to be low during Washington's primary elections is the fact that it happens in the summertime, and people forget about it. 'I think the sunshine comes out, and us Pacific Northwesterners get quite distracted with the beauty of where we live and all of the back-to-school plans and summer vacation, and it's really easy to get lost,' Watkins said. 'But voting is a habit, so the more that we can build that habit across every single election, the more folks will turn up in these local primary races.' King County voters will be narrowing down the field for offices, including the mayor of Seattle, some Seattle City Council seats, and the county executive. Ballots will need to be dropped off at your local elections office by 8 p.m. on August 5. Frank Lenzi is the News Director for KIRO Newsradio. Read more of his stories here. Solve the daily Crossword
