Higher turnout expected in Kitsap County for this midterm election

Kitsap County is expecting to see a larger turnout in this year’s midterm election than the one four years ago, according to county election officials.

Nearly 40 percent of Kitsap County’s eligible voters have already sent in their ballots for Tuesday’s General Election.

According to the Kitsap County Elections Division, a total of 64,387 ballots have been received for counting through Thursday, Nov. 1. That number represents 38.14 percent of the county’s eligible registered voters.

Turnout for this year’s midterm election is expected to be roughly 65 to 70 percent of registered voters, according to Kitsap County Auditor Dolores Gilmore.

Voting in Kitsap County is following historical trends, with the most ballots returned so far on a single day happening on the Monday leading into the weekend before Election Day. A total of 12,802 ballots were returned on Monday, Oct. 29.

If history holds, the greatest number of ballots will arrive for processing in Port Orchard following this weekend.

Kitsap County election officials note that a total of 168,827 voters are eligible to vote in Tuesday’s election.

There were 167,088 voters registered in Kitsap for the August Primary Election.

In the last midterm election in Kitsap, in November 2014, there were 154,462 registered voters, and turnout hit 56 percent.

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