Local drop boxes see a surge of general election ballots so far

It seems that there’s a lot of enthusiasm among general election voters so far this year, as local ballot drop boxes have been busy, the Snohomish County auditor said.

County Auditor Garth Fell said that as of Wednesday, Oct. 22, Snohomish County has received a total of 68, 736 ballots through the county’s 30 ballot drop boxes. Locally, the Edmonds ballot box near the Edmonds Library has received 6,262 ballots, compared to 1,118 as of this date in the 2016 general election season, and Lynnwood’s City Hall ballot box has received 6,879 ballots compared to 1,396 four years ago. The Mountlake Terrace box, near the MLT Library, has received 2,040 ballots. Mountlake Terrace did not have a ballot box four years ago, Fell noted.

“It’s very nice to see residents voting early,” Fell said.

You can find links to election information, including voter registration deadlines and how to track your ballot, on the Snohomish County Elections website.

  1. I’ve made a point of passing by when I’m out and about, and every time I’ve seen voters approaching the box with ballot(s) in hand. If this continues, we will know the results of local races on election night, and not have to wait days for last-minute ballots to flow in.

  2. I’m curious to know what the total number of ballots cast in these cities was, in 2016. More than 5x the number so far makes me wonder, are we already in record participation territory?

    1. Good question and I just received a reply from Garth Fell on that question:
      Lynnwood drop box
      2020 so far 6,879 ballots, 2016 at same time 1,396, at end of 2016 election 35,868
      Edmonds drop box
      2020 so far 6,262 ballots, 2016 at same time 1,118, at end of 2016 election 18,437

        1. I added up the votes for all the Edmonds precincts. I think that may catch some voters in unincorporated areas like Esperance.

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