Gray skies hung overhead and steady rain soaked just about everything — with the forecast promising more — as a long line of cars formed today at the Thurston County Voting Center at South Puget Sound Community College.
Election workers were scattered throughout campus wearing orange reflective vests. They lined sidewalks, manned drive-through tents and walked briskly in and out of buildings to their makeshift headquarters.
The college has served as a temporary voting center to allow drive-through voting services. In an effort to prevent exposure to COVID-19, voters stay inside their vehicles, and election workers wear masks.
The Thurston County Auditor’s Office estimated Election Day would be very busy, and they were proved correct. This afternoon, Auditor Mary Hall said the day was progressing smoothly. There were 36 people in line when the center opened this morning, and there hadn’t been a lull since.
Cars were directed to enter the campus from the Crosby Boulevard entrance. From there, they reached covered drive-through tents, where election staff directed them where to go.
Anyone who needed to register to vote could pull into a parking lot, where election workers handed them registration forms. After registering, they pulled back into line.
Anyone who needed a ballot stayed in line until they reached another large covered tent. After verifying each voter’s identity, election workers handed out ballots using a long-handled net, so the workers and the voters didn’t get too close. The ballots were sealed in plastic bags.
Just before 1 p.m., one voter, Elena Davenport, told The JOLT News she had been waiting for about 35 minutes to get through the line. She was waiting in her car in the registration parking lot — nearly at the end of the line.
“I think it’s great, I think it’s unbelievable,” she said of the drive-through registration and voting system. Davenport said she was there to register and vote.
Another voter, Xiomare Romero, said this was her first election. She had been in line for about 15 minutes in the registration parking lot. Romero said she liked the drive-through voting system, considering the dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yet another voter in the registration lot, Shad Hayes, said he had been in line just minutes before getting to the lot. Hayes said he had driven from Yelm to register and vote that day. He said he had tried to register to vote online, but something went wrong and he learned he hadn’t been registered.
At around 1 p.m., Hall said the day was moving smoothly. She is expecting about 1,400 people total on Election Day. At 2:53 p.m., the auditor’s office reported the line was growing and wait times were getting longer.
Thurston County officials expect 2020 to soundly break voter turnout records. Hall said in a previous interview that turnout could reach as high as 90 percent. The current record, which was set in 2008, is 86.12 percent. By yesterday evening, 74.4 percent of voters in Thurston County had already cast their ballots. With more people registered to vote in Thurston County than ever before — over 200,000 people — the county has already seen a record number of ballots turned in this election, with just under 150,000 reported yesterday.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here