Thurston County candidates who appeared ahead in early results Tuesday held onto their leads through Saturday's tallies, but thousands of votes have yet to be counted.
The auditor's office released an election update Saturday afternoon. The results indicated 97,359 votes had been counted but an estimated 25,000 remained. That means many races could still swing in the days ahead.
So far, 49.8% of registered Thurston County voters participated in the election, but that percentage will increase as the remaining votes are counted.
Auditor Mary Hall previously said she expected the percentage to eventual surpass 60%. She said the county's voting centers in Olympia and Lacey were very busy on election day, but the day went well for her office overall.
"We were grateful that people didn't wait until the very last minute," Hall said. "We were hoping to not have lines out the door and while we did earlier in the day, we didn't have any at 8 p.m., so that was encouraging."
Hall said her office had encouraged the political parties and public to observe the election in-person at the Ballot Processing Center in Tumwater.
"We had a lot of observers through," Hall said. "They were fascinated by the checks and balances. When they left, they felt very confident in our processes."
People interested in being observers can contact the auditor's office at 360-786-5408 or email elections@co.thurston.wa.us. The public can also find livestreams of the Ballot Processing Center by visiting the auditor's office website.
The Results So Far
Incumbent John Snaza continued to trail Deputy Derek Sanders, his employee, in the race for Thurston County Sheriff. However, Snaza did narrow Sander's early lead from Tuesday night.
Snaza had 45.1% (41,020 votes) compared to Sanders' 54.4% (49,538) as of Saturday. On Tuesday, Sanders claimed 54.7% (35,517 votes) while Snaza earned 44.9% (29,138 votes).
In the District 3 Thurston County Commissioner race, Democrat Tye Menser's lead also narrowed slightly with Saturday's results.
Menser earned 56.1% (53,223 votes) compared to Republican Vivian Eason's 43.5% (41,475 votes). On Tuesday, Menser had 57.6% (39,089 voters) and Eason got 43.7% (28,661 voters).
Votes in favor of a measure to expand the Thurston County Commission continued to outnumber those against it. If approved, the measure would add two new seats to the existing three-member board. The two new positions would be filled in 2023.
In Saturday's tallies, about 54.5% (50,796) voted to approve Thurston County Proposition No. 1 and 45.7% (42,350) voted against it.
A similar proposition to expand the Port of Olympia Commission did not get as much support as the county proposition as of Saturday. About 50.3% (46,490) voted in favor of it and 49.7% (45,900) voted against it.
Leads that were established early on slightly decreased in other races as well.
In the auditor race, Democrat Mary Hall claimed about 61.8% (58,757 votes) by Saturday. Her challenger Sal Militello, a Republican, earned 38.1% (36,179 votes).
Incumbent Clerk Linda Enlow led with 56.4% (45,715 votes) over Tonya Moore, who claimed 40.1% (32,544 votes). Both candidates ran as Democrats.
Democrat Steven Drew, the incumbent assessor, claimed 56.5% (52,844 votes) while independent Dave Kolar earned 43.3% (40,477 votes).
Incumbent Treasurer Jeff Gadman led with 63.5% (57,369 votes) on Saturday. His challenger, Jeff Curry, received 36.1% (32,668 votes).
Coroner Gary Warnock and Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tunheim ran for re-election unopposed.
