KING COUNTY, WA — The August primary is drawing to a close and King County voters have just a handful of days left to get their ballots in the mail or to a dropbox or voting center. Voter turnout has been slow to pick up since ballots were mailed in mid-July, with just 16 percent of King County’s 1.4 million registered voters having returned their ballots by Friday afternoon.

King County Elections is projecting that turnout will reach 45 percent by the time polls close Tuesday night, which is in line with voter participation in the 2018 primary. The county’s oldest voters have substantially outpaced younger residents, with those 65 and older casting more than double the number of ballots as voters ages 55 to 64. Participation is lower by each younger age group.

King County’s participation is in line with the statewide average, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office, with approximately 15.6 percent of all ballots returned across the state through Thursday. While the deadline to register to vote online or by mail has passed, residents can still register in person up until 8 p.m. Tuesday at a King County vote center.

Ballots must be postmarked by Election Day in order to count, but last-minute voters can also visit one of the dozens of drop boxes around King County to ensure their voice is heard.

More than 160 candidates are vying for 52 offices up for election this year, including in the U.S. House and Senate and the state legislature.

On the federal level, Sen. Patty Murray’s seat is up for election and she faces 17 challengers in the primary, including Democrats and Republicans, independents and unaffiliated candidates.

Four Democratic members of the U.S. House of Representatives will also appear on August ballots: Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Suzan DelBene, Kim Schrier and Adam Smith. Schrier, who flipped the 8th District in 2018 and was reelected in 2020, could face an especially strong challenge this year, attracting some high-profile Republicans, including King County Councilmember Reagan Dunn, Matt Larkin, and Jesse Jensen. Jensen ran against Schrier in the 2020 general election and was defeated by less than four points.

Reps. Jayapal, DelBene and Smith comfortably held off their challengers in the last election.

A central race on the state level will be for Secretary of State, with eight candidates vying for the job. Longtime Republican incumbent Kim Wyman stepped down late last year to accept an appointment in the Biden administration. Gov. Jay Inslee appointed Democratic state Sen. Steve Hobbs to fill the role, and he is on the ballot seeking a full term. His challengers include Julie Anderson, the Pierce County Auditor, who is running as a nonpartisan.

More than a dozen legislative districts have state representatives or senators up for re-election this year, and many races attracted at least two candidates. Some incumbents are running unopposed, including Frank Chopp, Nicole Macri and Jamie Pedersen in District 43.

Voters in some cities will see ballot measures in the primary, which were filed by Normandy Park, Skykomish School District, Enumclaw Fire Department, King County Fire Protection District 34, Mountain View Fire and Rescue and the Si View Metropolitan District.

Here are a few helpful resources for the August 2022 Primary Election: