A ballot drop box in Olympia (Laurel Demkovich/Washington State Standard)
Voters in Washington are in no hurry to cast ballots in the Aug. 6 primary.
Less than 11% of the state’s nearly 4.9 million registered voters had returned their ballot as of Tuesday, according to data on the secretary of state’s website .
Mason County topped all counties with 19.2% turnout. King, Snohomish, Pierce, and Clark counties – four of the most populous in the state – were all at or below 10%.
Washington’s electorate may be moving slowly given the stakes and their role in narrowing the field to two finalists who will meet in the November general election.
Check out the Standard’s voter guide for information on candidates in key statewide and Congressional races.
For example, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat, faces 10 opponents in her bid for re-election with Republican Raul Garcia viewed as the toughest challenger in the crowd
And 28 people are running to succeed Gov. Jay Inslee who is exiting after three terms. Of those, Democrats Bob Ferguson and Mark Mullet and Republicans Dave Reichert and Semi Bird are the frontrunners.