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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Strong voter turnout expected

OLYMPIA – About two out of three voters in Washington will cast ballots in this year’s general election, Secretary of State Sam Reed predicted Monday. That would be above average for recent midterm elections, and the most since 1970. Four years ago, the midterm general election turnout was 64.6 percent. Reed and Elections Director Nick Handy have several reasons for guessing on the high side, including a hot U.S. Senate race between Patty Murray and Dino Rossi, a large number of statewide initiatives, voter interest around the country and the switch in King County, the state’s most populous, to all-mail voting. It’s still off considerably from 2008, when the state hit a record of 85 percent.