King County sees higher number of early return ballots for this midterm elections

If you haven't registered to vote for the midterm elections, you are out of luck.

The deadline was today for Washington - but local elections offices are already seeing near record numbers of early return ballots.

So far, election officials in King County have received more than 270,000 early return ballots.

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That's nearly 100,000 more than what they had at this same time during the 2010 midterms.

“People are really nervous about the direction of this country on both sides,” said Christopher Parker, UW political science professor.

He told KIRO 7 News that he won't be surprised if there's a higher than normal turnout for this election.

He said many in Washington, like the rest of the country, feel powerless politically and filling out their ballots is a way of fighting back.

“I know it’s trite to say get out and vote and your vote counts,” said Parker. “But it really does and people are coming more and ore to believe this.”

We talked with Javier Herrero, who is voting for the first time since becoming a U.S. citizen in 2009.

He said he doesn’t like how polarized this country has become.

“It could be a way of endorsing what happened in 2016 or a way that you don’t like the way things are done,” said Herrero.

If you are getting ready to mail your ballots make sure it’s postmarked by Nov. 6. You can also drop them off at one of 66 drop boxes across King County

Cox Media Group