Voter turnout strong in state

By TIM BOOTH Associated Press Writer

Story

Summary

As expected, Washington state voter turnout was strong Tuesday, fueled by the presidential election, a tense gubernatorial rematch and hot-button ballot initiatives.

Story Published: Nov 4, 2008 at 11:59 PM PST

Voters wait in line at their polling place in Tacoma, Wash., Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008.

SEATTLE (AP) - As expected, Washington state voter turnout was strong Tuesday, fueled by the presidential election, a tense gubernatorial rematch and hot-button ballot initiatives.

Secretary of State Sam Reed said his pre-election predictions of 80- to 85-percent voter turnout stood strong, and was hearing of streamlined operations from around the state.

"I've been really pleased the reports we're getting from all 39 counties is things are going very smoothly," Reed told KING-TV Tuesday evening. "I think voters of the state of Washington will be very pleased with how smoothly this election will have been."

Tuesday's election of Democrat Barack Obama as president also started an impromptu celebration in the streets of downtown Seattle. About 1,000 jubilant supporters gathered in front of the main entrance to Pike Place Market before marching through the streets as police stood by watching the party.

The state's voting results Web site experienced intermittent slowdowns in the first hour after polls closed as tallies came in from counties around the state.

Snohomish and Island counties were the first to get votes posted to the Secretary of State's Web site. Pierce County results were supposed to be up by 8:30 p.m., but delays with new software delayed posting until after 10 p.m.

Most of the state has switched to absentee voting, with only King and Pierce counties still opening polling places for voters to cast ballots. A county-by-county analysis conducted by The Associated Press on Monday found that more than 1.7 million ballots had been returned - approximately 56 percent of the expected vote count.

The last-second opportunity to cast a ballot Tuesday had 18-year-old Peter Lansdaal at a polling place near the University of Washington campus.

"It's been a dream because I remember many years ago with the 2004 election my mom telling me, 'next time Peter, you're going to get a voice,"' said Lansdaal, who attends nearby Roosevelt High School. "And it's really cool that my opinions are actually going to be counted."

At Meany Middle School in Seattle, there was a line of 150 voters waiting for the doors to open at 7 a.m. Polling inspector Macks Leger was pleasantly surprised everything went off without problems.

"I'm actually surprised there was no weirdness," Leger said. "We haven't had much of that here this time."