The King County Elections headquarters opened on Saturday to meet voter registration demand ahead of the Nov. 6 election.
University of Washington freshman Baileigh McFall, who just turned 18, couldn't wait to register to vote.
“It is my first election,” McFall said. “I'm actually really excited, so I think it's really important to be involved in politics and get out your vote and have a voice.”
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McFall is among the flurry of folks registering to vote in King County ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm election. On Friday alone, the Renton headquarters and the elections office in Seattle had 478 people come in to register to vote. To meet demand, the elections office opened on Saturday.
“It just lets us know that there are people that are energized and excited about voting,” said Carrie Valderas from King County Elections.
A look at early ballot returns shows some of that voter excitement. Just over 200,000 ballots have already been returned in the county for this year's election. It's double the ballots that were returned at this point during the 2014 midterms, and the returns are just a little behind the 2016 presidential election.
“So we know people really have their finger on the pulse of what’s going on nationally and locally,” Valderas added.
Riley MacDonald just moved from Maine and registered to vote earlier but never got his ballot in the mail.
“I kind of waited all week and figured rather than risk a mail error, I'd just come down here and get registered,” MacDonald explained.
Jan Schiefer says he can't wait to cast his vote after becoming a U.S. citizen on Friday.
“The recent developments, political developments, have shown how important it is that everyone go out and vote. So it's important for me to be part of shaping the government, shaping the country,” Schiefer said.
Hilda Mena will also be casting her first vote after becoming a citizen on Monday.
“I had been putting it off for a long time, and just with the current political climate, I just felt it was time for me to register, become a citizen and be able to vote,” Mena explained.
Elections staff are expecting a 60 percent voter turnout.
The deadline to register to vote in person is on Monday. King County's election headquarters in Renton and the Election Annex in downtown Seattle will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Ballots must be postmarked on or before Nov. 6 or returned to a drop box.
Cox Media Group
