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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

Spokane County turnout: 38.5% so far

Spokane voters seemed to spend a bit more time weighing their options this year. The two biggest days for ballots showing up at the elections office were yesterday and today.

The current ballot count stands at 98,968, which is 38.5 percent of all registered voters in the county. More than 39,000 of those ballots showed up in the last two days -- and that doesn't count the final pickups from drop boxes all over the county.

Could it be that some voters regretted voting too early in previous years, and held on to their ballots until closer to the deadline, to see how the campaigns played out? Hard to say, but it does seem to undercut the argument of some campaign operatives that so many resources should be targeted at the week the ballots get mailed out.

If tradition holds, biggest day for turnout will be tomorrow, when most ballots mailed yesterday and today get delivered.

For more on how the ballot turn-in count stands, go inside the blog.

The city of Spokane Valley is running slightly ahead of the city of Spokane in turnout

Spokane Valley: 37.7 percent
Spokane: 37 percent.

But to be fair, Millwood is beating them both, with 42 percent.

Within the city of Spokane, there's noticeable variation among the council districts. District 2 in South Spokane is at 40.8%, District 3 in Northwest Spokane is at 36.4 percent, and District 1 in Northeast Spokane is at 32.5%. It's also important to note that while Districts 2 and 3 both have about 40,000 voters, District 1 has just over 29,000 voters. So low turnout coupled with low registration means a vote in District 1 is worth much more than in the other two.

Many of the school districts are approaching or past 40 percent for their turnout.

Best turnout in the county belongs to the Williams Lake Sewer District, at 63.5 percent. But to be fair, the district only has 55 voters, and 35 have turned in their ballots.



The Spokesman-Review's political team keeps a critical eye on local, state and national politics.