Over 220,000 votes have been cast in Pierce County. Here’s what early voting data tells us

Election day is just four days away. But with Washington state conducting its elections by mail, much of the vote is already in.

The Washington Secretary of State’s office tracks the number of ballots that have been delivered, cast and challenged in each county across the state, updating a dashboard with its latest data. Here’s what we can learn about Pierce County.

Pierce County voter turnout

Of the 574,517 people currently registered to vote in Pierce County, 220,448 have submitted a ballot, giving the county a voter turnout rate of 38.4% so far in this year’s election. That’s the sixth-lowest rate of the 39 counties in Washington state, well below the state average of 43.65%, according to the Secretary of State’s office.

Just over 60% of Pierce County votes have been submitted through a ballot drop box, compared to 39% by mail. Statewide, those numbers are 58% and 41%, respectively, so Pierce County votes by ballot drop box at a slightly higher rate than the rest of Washington.

Age groups most likely to vote early in Pierce Co.

According to the Secretary of State’s office, over 57% of the vote so far has come from people ages 55 and older. Meanwhile, just 14% of ballots have been cast by people between the ages of 18 and 34.

Additionally, voter turnout rates are much higher among Pierce County’s older population as well. 61.5% of registered voters ages 65 and older have cast their ballots already, compared to just 19% of the 18 to 24 age group and 22% of people between the ages of 25 and 34.

Challenged ballots in Pierce County

Before a vote is counted, election officials verify that the signature on a ballot matches the signature on file for that voter. As a result, ballots can be challenged if there’s an issue verifying the voter’s signature.

1,307 ballots have been challenged in Pierce County so far, making up 0.59% of returned votes. That’s the seventh-lowest rate in the state, and well below the Washington average of 0.98%.

Of Pierce County’s challenged ballots, 1,202 were considered correctable while the remaining 105 were ruled invalid.

You can find out more about how election officials address challenged ballots on the county’s website. You can check your ballot status at voter.votewa.gov, and you can contact the county elections office if you have any questions about your ballot.

How Pierce County voter data compares to 2020 election

So how does this year’s early voting data compare to the last presidential election?

At this point in the 2020 election cycle, just over 321,000 votes had been cast in Pierce County. This year, despite an additional 6,800 registered voters, that number stands at 220,448. As a result, voter turnout is down as well. By five days before the 2020 election, 56.6% of Pierce County voters had cast their ballots, compared to under 40% so far this year.

That’s in line with the statewide trend, as Washington has seen 43.65% of ballots returned so far this year, compared to 61.47 at this point in 2020. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that, come election day, voter turnout will be lower this year, as the COVID-19 pandemic could have affected how and when people voted in 2020.