(The Center Square) – With early voting underway ahead of Washington state’s Aug. 4 primary, officials say they are working to ensure only legal citizens are registered.
As of Monday, turnout in King County was just shy of 9%, while the final week typically brings a flood of ballots into county election offices across the state, officials said.
“We are projecting a 45% turnout for this primary,” King County Elections Communications Manager Halei Watkins said in a Monday interview with The Center Square. “That’s right in line with what we’ve seen in other even year primary elections.”
Watkins said the low turnout so far is normal.
“We see folks in primary elections in particular hold onto their ballots later then they do in a November general election. But of course we want all voters to get their ballots in as soon as possible and make sure their vote can be counted,” said Watkins.
In Washington’s primary the top two vote-getters in each contest will move on to the General Election in November. Ballots include federal offices for U.S. Representative; state legislative offices for Senator and Representative; state judicial offices for the Supreme Court, and Court of Appeals; as well as several local offices, including County Auditor positions. There are also local bond and levy measures in some parts of the state.
Given the recent revelation in New Jersey, where about 6,600 people who identified themselves as noncitizens while obtaining driver’s licenses or identification cards were nevertheless registered to vote, The Center Square asked Watkins for assurances that is not happening in Washington.
“There is no evidence here in King County that there is some mass number of non-citizens who are on the voter registration rolls,” she said.
“What we have seen is folks do occasionally get in advertently registered via the Department of Licensing and those folks reach out to us quite terrified,” Watkins added. “Because that can put their path to citizenship at risk. It can put their entire lives at risk. And we do cancel those voters when they are found.”
Watkins said they communicate with DOL when those occasional cases are discovered.
Washington State GOP Party Chair Jim Walsh told The Center Square the response from King County Elections “minimizes and justifies the problem of non-citizens being illegally registered to vote.”
“Watkins is spinning so desperately that she makes everyone listening to her dizzy. Her argument – which isn’t really an argument, but a nervous evasion – starts with the proposition that there aren’t ‘mass’ numbers of non-citizens illegally registered to vote in King County,” he said.
“Who gets to define ‘mass”‘ In 2024, Washington had statewide primary election decided by fewer than 50 votes. Does Ms. Watkins consider 50 or 100, or 500 illegally registered voters a ‘mass’ number?” said Walsh.
Earlier this month, federal authorities said Washington state election officials could face criminal prosecution if they fail to prevent noncitizens from voting in this year’s federal elections.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon warned election officers could be held criminally liable if they knowingly retain noncitizens on the state’s voter rolls or facilitate noncitizens in casting ballots.
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs sent a July 16 response to the DOJ.
“The letter appears to be another instance in a troubling pattern of efforts to intimidate election officials and interfere with states’ constitutionally protected election administration,” wrote Hobbs.
“Notably, your letter does not identify any specific concerns regarding Washington’s voter registration procedures or compliance with federal law. If the Department has recommendations regarding our practices, we ask that it identify the factual basis and applicable legal authority so that we may review it promptly.”
Washington is also the subject of an ongoing DOJ lawsuit for access to the state’s voter list. A hearing on Washington’s request to dismiss the case is set for August.
To track a primary ballot once it’s been mailed or put into a drop box, visit voteWA.gov for updates.
To track ballot return data on the SOS site, such as which age group of voters are returning ballots at a faster rate and which counties have higher return rates, click here.