Election 2021–Are People Voting, or Not? Benton-Franklin Numbers

As hotly contested as some of the local races are, some of the ballot numbers in our area are kind of low.

Granted, results will not be announced until 8 PM Tuesday evening, and more ballots are coming.

A check on Tuesday Nov. 2 at 1PM shows the following voter number data for Benton and Franklin Counties:   Here's Benton:

• Ballots sent to registered voters: 125,420
• Ballots returned:  29,076 (23 percent)
• Ballots Challenged 361 (24,601 accepted)
• After challenges percent accepted: 19%

Franklin County Data:

•  Ballots sent to registered voters: 42,359
• Ballots returned:  7,008 (16.54 percent)
•  Ballots Challenged: 129 (6,879)
•  Ballots Accepted: 6.879 (16.24 percent)

Not exactly stunning numbers, considering the hotly contested school board races in Richland, Pasco and Kennewick, as well as City Council--especially Kennewick.

Statewide, out of 4,813,390 registered voters in WA, 1,048,906 ballots were returned, just over 21 percent. Of those, 11,161 were challenged.

It's also interesting to note the state tracks returns by age groups. The highest return rate of ballots were those over 65 years of age, 56 percent. Then 55-64, at 27%. Following that was ages 45-54 at 17% and finally 35-44 at 13 percent. Over 90 percent of ballots sent to persons ages 34 and under were not returned. 

We will find out by Tuesday evening how our local races shake out here.