OLYMPIA- About two out of three voters in Washington will cast ballots in the general election, Secretary of State Sam Reed predicted today.

That would be above average for the last four decades, and the most for a mid-term election since 1970. Four years ago, the mid-term general election turnout was 64.6 percent.

Reed and Elections Director Nick Handy have several reasons for guessing on the high side.

—There’s a hot U.S. Senate race between Patty Murray and Dino Rossi.
—There’s a lot of voter interest in general around the country.
—There’s a boatload of statewide initiatives.
—The primary generated a modern record in September.
—King County, the state’s most populous, has switched over to all-mail voting.

It’s still off considerably from 2008, when the state hit a record of 85 percent.

OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Sam Reed is on his way home from the hospital after having surgery for a cancerous kidney on Monday. His staff said  he reported feeling pretty good, and is optimistic about the pathology tests which haven’t come back yet because doctors said things looked good when they examined the kidney visually.

OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Sam Reed is out of surgery for kidney cancer, and his wife Maggie reports “everything went really well.”

Reed had a minimally invasive surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. He’s not expected to need chemotherapy unless the cancer has spread further than expected.

He’ll be in the hospital for two or three days, then recuperating at home for a couple weeks.