Slow turnout and some slow mail: A look at Washington's 2022 primary election so far

Halei Watkins with King County Elections says they expect voter turnout to be similar to the last midterm election in 2018 — about 45% return — but Watkins says that, so far, turnout is a bit sluggish.

“We are looking to be running just a little bit behind those projections as of today,” Watkins said.

There are a number of possible explanations. Voter enthusiasm may have dipped. Or, sometimes, Watkins says it’s the weather.

“Things impact turnout and that includes extreme heat and family vacations,” Watkins said. “Voting is not always at the top of everybody's mind.”

Also, more people could just be waiting to hand in their ballots next week.

“Especially in primary elections, we're really seeing folks trend to turning in their ballots later,” Watkins said.

RELATED: What next week's primaries say about Washington state politics

Ballots need to be postmarked or returned to a drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, however, some Washington state officials have raised an issue with mail service delays around this August’s primary. Whatcom, Snohomish, and Island counties are reportedly affected.

“For all mail in Ferndale, there's been a significant backlog for the last couple of weeks,” said USPS Spokesperson Riley Sweeney.

Ferndale’s post office is reportedly struggling the most. That has some residents worried about how this might affect their ballots and other mail.

“I think that what is stressing people out the most is when they drive by the post office, they can see the thousands of packages sitting in their back area,” Sweeney said.

For its part, the post office is calling in extra workers from other locations to help with the backlog. Riley recommends voters in Ferndale use one of the ballot return drop boxes this year, instead of mailing them.

KUOW's David Hyde and Northwest News Network's Austin Jenkins further discuss Washington state's 2022 primary election, and what it says about local politics, here.