Today is Election Day, which means it’s time to get those primary election ballots in to be tallied by the Clark County Elections Office.
Of the 323,756 eligible voters in Clark County, as of Monday just over 66,000 ballots have been returned, for a turnout of 20.4 percent. Monday had the largest number of ballots returned at 15,775. The next highest single-day count was July 25 with 11,834 ballots.
Despite a slow initial turnout, Auditor Greg Kimsey remained optimistic Monday that voter turnout will still hit the 40-45 percent he originally predicted.
“Every election is different,” Kimsey said in an earlier interview.
In general, Kimsey said about a third of ballots are returned in the first four to five days, another third come in on Election Day and a third come in between those.
Ballots can be mailed, as long as they are postmarked today, or placed in a designated ballot drop site by 8 p.m. today. They can also be dropped off in person at the Clark County Elections Office, 1408 Franklin St., Vancouver, by 8 p.m. today.
Polls close at 8 p.m., and results are usually released before 8:30 p.m. The Columbian will have a story with the results posted shortly afterward and will update its elections page with the latest information.
Voters following the election on Twitter can look for posts from Columbian reporters using the #Clarkelex hashtag.
Among the races in which voters are eagerly awaiting results is the 3rd Congressional District contest between incumbent Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler and challengers Joe Kent, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, Vicki Kraft, Chris Byrd, Oliver Black, Heidi St. John, Leslie French and Davy Ray.
Kent, Kraft, St. John and French are running as Republican candidates, Black identified as an American Solidarity party candidate, Byrd is running as an independent and Perez is the lone Democrat among the field. Fellow Democrat Brent Henrich initially filed for the race but withdrew in May and endorsed Perez.
When Clark County Sheriff Chuck Atkins decided to retire after two terms in the office, three career law enforcement officers were left vying for the job: John Horch, David Shook and Rey Reynolds.
A charter amendment passed in November changed the county offices of auditor, treasurer, clerk, prosecuting attorney, sheriff and county councilor from partisan positions to nonpartisan. Although all appear on the ballot, only Auditor Greg Kimsey has a challenger, Brett Simpson, though both candidates will advance to the general election in the state’s top-two primary system.
With three of the county’s five council offices on the primary ballot, the outcome of the election has the potential to change the council majority. The candidates — 10 in all — bring varied backgrounds, ideas and political positions.
Hector Hinojosa, Glen Yung and Doug Coop are running for the District 1 council seat. Chartisha Roberts, Kim Hamlik and Michelle Belkot are running in District 2. Current District 5 Councilor Richard Rylander Jr. is running against Don Benton, Sue Marshall and Rick Torres for the District 5 seat.
All four state legislative districts encompassing Clark County, with two positions for each district, are on the primary ballot. Only District 20’s state Reps. Ed Orcutt and Peter Abbarno are running unchallenged. Several of the races only have two contestants, who will automatically move on to the November general election.
Eligible voters can register in person between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. today at the elections office.
Election results will be certified on Aug. 16.
