WA sees low voter turnout for primaries

Low voter turnout concerns as primaries enter final stretch

Despite the significance of these primaries, there's a real concern that voter turnout in Washington will be abysmal.

KING COUNTY, Wash. - As the primary election season reaches its final stretch, there is growing concern about the historically low voter turnout being witnessed.

Despite the significance of Washington primaries in shaping the political landscape, many residents seem disengaged.

FOX 13 News looked into the reasons behind the voter lack of interest.

"Right now, it's low — it's lower than it was four years ago. But it's still going to be at about 40%," said FOX 13 political analyst Cathy Allen.

Allen attributed the low turnout to procrastination and distractions such as good summer weather and local sports.

"Usually, if we're having good summers, Mariners winning, what happens is that life gets sort of like, put on hold for all things political, even if you have an open race for the presidency of the United States," said Allen.

Historically, we know only about half will vote in the primaries. The numbers dwindle when we talk about young voters.

According to the Washington Secretary of State, they only have 15.8% of ballots from those 18- to 34-years-old.

It's a disturbingly low percentage, but Allen also notes that younger voters tend to wait until the last minute.

"But they procrastinate. Now the one thing I learned is don't count what the young people are doing until the votes are in, and that's usually at 8 o'clock," Allen said.

Since 2020, we have seen a steady increase in the number of young people voting.

Still, it’s not quite a high turnout for primaries, with nearly 23% of ballots returned to King County alone. Simply put, 316,881 people have voted out of 1,384,246 registered voters.

"The fact that it's looking like it's going to be closer to 40% is disturbing to me," said Allen. "People are interested in the presidential election, and that's not even on the primary route. So from this perspective, people will just say, 'Oh, wait for the big stuff. Oh, wait until November.'"

Despite the concerns, Allen highlighted the unique nature of Washington’s primary system.

"Washington is the only state that does the top two, regardless of party. It doesn't have to be a Democrat and a Republican that go on to the general; it’s the two who get the top votes," said Allen. "This is going to be the first year when we see that happen. We're going to see in some of our biggest races the top two will be either two Democrats or two Republicans, not one of each."

The sentiments of local voters also reflect a mix of engagement and frustration.

"I voted in the Democratic primary by mail. If you want to see change, then that's something you have to do, because our local elections are just as important, if not more important," said 27-year-old Evan Mitchell from Winlock. He believes that educating young people on the importance of voting can help increase turnout. "I think maybe just teaching them in high school having classes about why voting is important and how to register and that there are multiple ways to vote is also an important factor."

Conversely, Elias Adams, a 22-year-old from Bothell, has not yet voted.

"I don't know how. I was never taught. Nobody ever took me to the polls. Nobody ever showed me where to go," said Adams. "People say vote, but they don't tell you how."

Adams also questioned whether his vote makes an impact, saying, "Sometimes you feel like that vote doesn't really matter. And that's part of the reason why we're not so motivated to vote, because there's other people around you, and you feel like the powers and the waves of social media are way more powerful than you are."

Allen firmly believes there are issues young people have a stake in, saying, "They should be voting, and from that perspective, we have to do a better job in convincing them they do matter, because issues that include them are very much, in fact, on the ballot."