How is your ballot counted?

In a aluminum building in the Tumwater Industrial Park, your ballot is currently being processed.

Some 30 part time workers, most of them over 65,  are opening, counting, checking and processing your ballot.   As of 3:30 p.m. on election day, the Thurston County Auditor had processed and counted about 38,000 ballots.  The result of that count will be released just after 8 p.m.   Results can be found on the Secretary of State and the Thurston County Auditor’s web pages.

Some 164,000 ballots were sent out countywide.   When the final vote is counted and the results certified on November 24, Auditor Mary Hall expects a return of about 42 percent.   That means another 20,000 ballots will come in, be counted and certified after tonight.

About 30 percent of the ballots returned come through the US Postal Service – – most of them with a stamp.   Hall said that only a handful come in without a stamp – which she has to pay for out of her budget.

The rest, about 70 percent – are dropped off at the 26 drop box locations around Thurston County.   Those drop boxes come in three sizes, with the largest located at the most popular drop-off spots.   The drop box with the greatest use is at the Lacey Post Office.  It holds 1400 ballots.  To date (as of 3:30 p.m. on election day) 4203 ballots have been deposited at the Lacey Post Office drop box and picked up.   The next greatest use box is at Haggen’s on Olympia’s Westside.  To date it has collected 2555 ballots.  The Tumwater Library gets the third highest use at about 2500 so far.

Today, Election Day, those 26 drop boxes will be checked in the morning, in the afternoon and at 8 p.m.   Election workers – two at a time – will be at all 26 of those drop boxes at 8 p.m. to lock them up and take the ballots.