It’s Primary Election Day in Washington state!
You have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to make your vote count.
Election officials say if you are casting a ballot today, do it by drop box, not by mail, to make sure it is counted.
King County Elections Chief of Staff Kendall Hodson tells us as of 6 a.m. Tuesday, they have around 19% of ballots already turned in and being counted.
Those ballots hold the key to who and what King County voters want on the November ballot.
Megan Utemei from Tukwila said she votes every chance she can.
“It’s so important we go out to vote; there’s an affordability crisis, and there are local, state, and federal elected officials making decisions for us, and it’s so important that we vote for the right people,” Utemei said.
Hodson said if you are turning in a ballot today, use the drop boxes — do not mail your ballot.
“We just don’t know if it’s going to be on time if folks mail it through the postal service,” Hodson said.
She tells us the ballots leave the drop box, then come to the secure counting room on the second floor of the election headquarters.
“To get onto this floor you have to badge on and off the floor; we’ve got 80 security cameras at all times, you can watch our count online,” Hodson said.
She said this level of security is to ensure all ballots are properly counted.
“Transparency is really important for everything we do here. We want folks to see what’s happening, watch the process, know your ballot is counted accurately,” Hodson said.
Some voters say they don’t worry about their ballot once it hits the box.
“I feel like King County Elections has a great accuracy rate. I do feel very safe and secure with my ballot here,” Utemei said.
To track your King County ballot, click here.