With Inslee Signature, Washington Certifies Election Results

OLYMPIA, WA — Late Tuesday night Washington Gov. Jay Inslee signed and finalized the statewide election results, closing a long and dramatic election process — at least for Washington state.

The move is mostly ceremonial — individual counties had previously certified their results back on Nov. 24. Law requires that county auditors wait three weeks after the ballot deadline before certifying the election.

More Washington residents cast their ballot in the 2020 General Election than ever had before, turning in a record-breaking 4,116,894 votes. However, it didn't break the record by all metrics. According to the Secretary of State's Office, the final tally shows that 84.14 percent of Washington's 4,892,871 registered voters cast their ballots, which is 0.47 percent shy of breaking the all-time record: 84.61 percent of voters sent in their ballots in the 2008 general election.

In a statement, Secretary of State Kim Wyman thanked voters for stepping up and doing their civic duty.

“Throughout this election season, voters were energized, engaged, and eager to make their voices heard,” Wyman said. “The nearly 4.2 million people who cast their ballots felt empowered to exercise their right to vote, and have a say in their future and the future of our country.”

Wyman also commented on election security — a divisive issue in recent months both in Washington and across the country — reiterating her belief that Washington's election results were transparently counted and secure.

“We believe this election’s success is also due to our strong relationships with the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, U.S. Postal Service, and Washington National Guard that helped secure our elections and earn voter confidence," said Wyman.

Finally, Wyman's office thanked the state for its efforts to promote a greater turnout. The Secretary of State's Office says that in the last two weeks leading up to the election, over 55,000 Washingtonians registered to vote. Of those, nearly 20 percent, or 11,000 voters, were registered on Election Day.

Now that the votes are tallied and certified, here are the top ten Washington counties by voter turnout:

1. San Juan County: 90.67% (13,289 ballots)
2. Jefferson County: 90.06% (24,948 ballots)
3. Garfield County: 88.97% (1,501 ballots)
4. Columbia County: 88.96% (2,521 ballots)
5. Whatcom County: 87.94% (139,628 ballots)
6. Lincoln County: 87.87% (7,073 ballots)
7. Kittias County: 87.51% (26,594 ballots)
8. Wahkiakum County: 86.72% (3,018 ballots)
9. Skagit County: 86.41% (74,039 ballots)
10. Chelan County: 86.2% (43,634 ballots)

Of the state's most populous counties, King County brought in 85.35% of voters (1,220,062 ballots), followed by Snohomish with 85.17% (441,921 ballots) and Pierce County with 82.26% (467,072 ballots).