More than 50 percent of Clark County residents have returned their ballots ahead of Tuesday’s election.
“I always feel hopeful our voters will exercise their right to vote and they still have time,” said Clark County Elections Supervisor Cathie Garber.
The county’s election office believes the county is on track to reach the projected 82 percent voter turnout.
Since the August primary, 11,750 new people have registered to vote in the county. Last month, the county issued 272,553 general election ballots.
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Garber said on Tuesday morning that 15,238 had been received in the mail and from collected from drop boxes overnight, bringing voter turnout to 58.37 percent.
On Monday afternoon, lines were already forming at the Clark County Elections Office, where some people were waiting to drop off their ballot while others hoped to get a replacement ballot.
She reminded Clark County residents that its not too late to vote.
To avoid the lines, it’s possible to fill out a replacement ballot online at www.clarkvotes.org and drop it off at one of the county’s drop boxes. Ballots must be dropped at a ballot box by 8 p.m. or postmarked by Tuesday to be valid.
Despite national cries of a “rigged election,” Garber assured voters there are several layers of security to ensure every vote is counted.
“All we care about here is counting your ballot properly and making sure your vote counts,” Garber said.
Statewide, more than 2 million ballots have been returned to county elections offices as of Monday evening, or about 48 percent of the 4.27 million ballots that were issued. Normally, 50 percent of ballots are returned during election week.
In 2012, statewide voter turnout was 81.3 percent. In 2008, it was 84.6 percent statewide. In Clark County, the voter turnout was also solid. In 2008, 85.3 percent of voters cast a ballot. In 2012, 79.6 percent voted.
Voters are clearly motivated by the heated presidential race, but there are also several local and statewide races garnering interest.
In Vancouver, Battle Ground and Woodland voters will decide whether to raise taxes to fund affordable housing, new schools and transportation projects.
In Clark County, voters will choose among candidates in five legislative districts, and could determine who holds the majority in the state Senate. Voters in east Vancouver and north Clark County will pick new county council members.
Washington voters will cast their ballots for governor, and U.S. senator and representative. Washingtonians will also decide on whether to raise the state’s minimum wage to $13.50 over a three-year period.
