King County Elections certifies general election; 85 percent turnout

King County Elections certified the results of 2012 general election Tuesday. Voters returned 993,908 ballots for a final turnout of 85 percent, with 978,377 of those ballots tabulated in the final results report.

“Voters responded to our messaging this year and returned their ballots early,” said Sherril Huff, director of elections. “We counted a record high of 556,000 ballots on election night and the number of ballots received too late to process was down over 200 percent.”

Voters also improved performance on signature-related issues which resulted in significantly fewer ballots requiring costly follow up.

One race, for the District 47 House of Representatives seat between State Rep. Mark Hargrove, R-Covington and Kent Democratic challenger Bud Sizemore, qualified for a mandatory machine recount that will be conducted on Friday, Nov. 30.

Residents can register to vote or update their registration at the Elections website by Jan. 14 to vote in the next election, a special election, on Feb. 12.

General election by the numbers

Ballots issued 1,216,246

Registered voters 1,170,638

Ballots returned 993,908

Ballots counted 978,377

Ballots cast on accessible voting units 4,463

Ballots returned by email 4,638

Ballots returned by fax 806

Ballots returned at drop boxes 208,105

Challenged ballots cured 13,237

Ballots remaining challenged 8,900

Returned too late 3,068

Returned as undeliverable 11,002

Contact Kent Reporter Courts, government reporter Steve Hunter at shunter@kentreporter.com or 253-872-6600, ext. 5052.

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