Kittitas County faces lineup of last-minute voters

Make way for last-day voters.

Kittitas County did just that Tuesday at the county courthouse: Yellow caution tape was stretched across the parking lot of the building’s West Fifth Avenue entrance to prevent people from parking.

The reason? To cordon off a single lane for voters using the curbside ballot drop box.

A steady stream of vehicles navigated through the lot on Election Day, starting even before the courthouse was open to the public.

Inside, newly registered voters (and others) filled out their ballots at voting stations set up in the main corridors of the first floor.

“We’re very well-positioned, and in good shape, for a good busy day,” said County Auditor Bryan Elliott as he walked past voters hunched over their ballots behind privacy screens.

Most of the county’s eligible voters had already returned their ballots in advance of Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

More than 31,000 ballots were issued to voters in Kittitas County for the 2024 General Election. County election officials said 2,962 ballots were received through 6:39 p.m. Monday.

The total number of ballots received was 19,670 before Election Day. That number represents a turnout rate of 62.7% through Nov. 4.

In the last presidential election four years ago, turnout was 87.5%. A total of 26,594 ballots were returned out of 30,391 issued.

During the 2020 presidential election, a lower number of Kittitas County voters — 26,364 — marked their ballots in the race for president. (The Republican ticket of Donald Trump/Mike Pence outperformed Democratic Party candidates Joe Biden/Kamala Harris, 53.5% to 43.3%.)

Elliott said Tuesday he expected turnout in this election to be lower than what Kittitas County saw in 2020.

“I still think it’s going to be a few percentage points under,” Elliott said. “But it’s going to be close. We’re going to be right up there.”

“It’s looking good,” he said.

Voting has been steady since ballots were mailed out in October.

“Sometimes we see a big influx at the beginning, and then it drops off. And then it spikes at the end,” Elliott explained. “We’ve seen more steady ballot returns over the course. And now it’s really starting to pick up.”

People voting at the courthouse Tuesday were a likely combination of new voters, and people who are classified as inactive voters (people who did not have an updated address or had not voted in two federal elections).

Others are those who have come in for a replacement ballot. (“I lost my ballot; dog ate my ballot,” Elliott said.)

A dozen county employees were working the election on Tuesday, and the number included workers at the voting centers in Cle Elum at the Upper Kittitas County Senior Center and at Central Washington University, as well as a safety-vest wearing worker who was handling traffic control for the drop box in front of the courthouse.

Tabulation of the ballots could not begin until 8 p.m. Tuesday.

The early, unofficial vote count in the general election can be found at dailyrecordnews.com.

Elliott said he was feeling good about the county’s work to prepare and carry out the election, noting investments the county has made in improving election infrastructure.

“We’ve done a good job. We’ve been preparing for this for the better part of two years,” Elliott said.

“I’m really proud of the staff. They’ve done an amazing job. They’re just true professionals.”