Wednesday Aug 08 2012 2:22 PM

The Pierce County Auditor will release updated election results at 4 p.m. and again at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 8. You can find results online at www.piercecountywa.org/results or in person at the Election Center located at 2501 South 35th Street, in Tacoma.

The Elections Division received over 25,000 ballots at their drop boxes just before 8 p.m. last night and over 60,000 ballots are on hand from the post office.

The Auditor's Office has approximately 86,000 ballots on hand left to count. Expect results for approximately 18,000 additional voters at 4 p.m. and another 5,000 at 8:30 p.m.

Pierce County saw a slow ballot return rate in the days prior to the election, despite a 48% turnout projection. Pierce County has now revised its expected turnout to 40% for this Primary.

Today's releases will represent results from across Pierce County.

"It's extremely difficult for elections officials to predict turnout when the vast majority of voters wait until the last moment to cast their ballot. Clearly, this is what we saw across the state," said Auditor Julie Anderson. "The earlier Primary date undoubtedly influenced ballot returns more than we expected."

The Auditor will continue to release results every day, except on weekends at 4 p.m. through the certification of the election on Aug. 21.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Julie Anderson, Auditor
253-798-3189 (office)
253-318-0493 (cell)

Mike Rooney, Elections Manager
253-798-2148 (office)
253-948-7547 (cell)