Ballots start to pour in on Election Day

The ballots are finally starting to pile up. After two weeks of lackluster returns, Kitsap County Elections officials said Tuesday they had received the biggest batch of ballots for the 2012 Primary Election since ballots were sent to voters in late June.

By Henri Gendreau • August 7, 2012 4:47 pm
Jeff Clark drops off a few ballots at the 24-hour drop box outside the Bainbridge Island Fire Department's station on Madison Avenue on Election Day. County election officials estimate that turnout will hit 40 percent for the Primary Election.
Jeff Clark drops off a few ballots at the 24-hour drop box outside the Bainbridge Island Fire Department's station on Madison Avenue on Election Day. County election officials estimate that turnout will hit 40 percent for the Primary Election.

The ballots are finally starting to pile up.

After two weeks of lackluster returns, Kitsap County Elections officials said Tuesday they had received the biggest batch of ballots for the 2012 Primary Election since ballots were sent to voters in late June.

Ballots were first sent out to people serving in the military, and most voters in Kitsap County started receiving their ballots in their mailboxes a little more than two weeks ago.

Since then, however, turnout has been sparse.

Before this week, the largest single-day return for ballots was July 24, when 3,687 ballots were returned for processing.

Ballot returns surged this week.

On Monday, elections officials said 4,141 ballots were returned.

And today, Election Day, ballots are pouring into the Kitsap County Elections department.

The county has received approximately 7,000 ballots today, and another 5,000 have been picked up from drop boxes around the county, according to Kitsap County Elections Manager Dolores Gilmore.

As of Monday, Aug. 6, Kitsap County Elections had received a total of 31,258 ballots. While the number represents a turnout of 21 percent of registered voters, elections officials are  still estimating turnout at 40 percent.

Ballots must be postmarked by today or deposited in drop boxes by no later than 8 p.m. to be counted.

A full list of drop boxes can be found at http://www.kitsapgov.com/aud/elections/ballot_deposit.htm.