Voter turnout in Pierce County: How 2021 primary election compares to past years
It’s not unusual for voter turnout to be low for August primary elections, especially in odd-numbered years, where races include hyper-local city council and school board seats.
In the Aug. 3 primary election for Pierce County, the number of ballots counted on election day was the lowest it has been in recent years when it comes to odd-year primary elections, but only marginally so. Ballots are still being counted.
Out of about 567,000 registered voters, the Pierce County Auditor’s Office counted just 12.7 percent when the first round of results dropped just after 8 p.m. Tuesday. Including about 10,200 in house that had not yet been counted, the total percent of ballots returned was at 14.5 percent Tuesday evening.
By comparison, on election day in Pierce County in 2019, the percentage of ballots returned was at 15.17 percent of about 517,700 voters. In 2017, that was at 15.17 percent for about 500,000 voters, and on election day in 2015, that was 16.41 percent of 454,000 voters. In the subsequent days, those numbers jumped between 3 and 5 percentage points.
Compared to more than 30 other Washington counties in the 2021 primary election, Pierce County ranked dead last in voter turnout as of Tuesday, according to state metrics. Keep in mind that Pierce County has the second-largest number of registered voters, behind King County at about 1.4 million voters. Comparatively, Columbia County had the highest voter turnout as of Tuesday evening with 44.50 percent of only 937 voters.
This year’s primary election turnout isn’t causing any alarm bells for Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson.
The current number of ballots counted at 14.5 percent may be slightly lower than recent years, but overall is on par with past odd-year primary elections, Anderson said, especially in a year that’s been hard on everyone.
“We have a pandemic layered on top of that,” Anderson said. “We have to factor that in as well.”
By Friday, the auditor’s office will have a much better understanding of where the true voter turnout falls. Previously, they projected a 25 percent voter turnout.
Anderson said she estimated another 20,000 ballots arriving by mail Wednesday.
The next round of results were expected to drop Wednesday afternoon. The results will be officially certified Aug. 17.
For now, let the counting commence.
This story was originally published August 4, 2021 at 1:30 PM.
