WASHINGTON STATE – Voters across Washington will decide nearly 3,000 races in Tuesday’s election.

These include contests for city, county, school, fire district and court of appeals positions, along with one statewide ballot measure. In the state’s biggest city and county, that means deciding on the next Seattle mayor and King County executive.

There are also several competitive legislative elections that could signal how voters feel about decisions to raise taxes and pass contentious social policies this past legislative session. The outcomes in those races could skew, but not upend, the balance of power in Olympia going into 2026.

To count, ballots must be returned to a drop box or voting center by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

Voters can also drop their ballots in the mail, but they must be postmarked by Tuesday.

Election officials had advised those looking to mail in their ballots to do so a week before Election Day, as the U.S. Postal Service may not postmark returned ballots on the day they’re first collected.

With the election just days away, officials recommend using drop boxes, going to a voting center or visiting a Post Office location to turn in your ballot if you haven’t already.

The secretary of state maintains a map of Washington’s 554 ballot drop boxes. It’s also available in list form.

As of Thursday, about 14% of Washington’s registered voters had returned their ballots. Garfield, Columbia and Jefferson counties were leading the pack in terms of the share of voters who’d cast ballots, while Franklin, Grays Harbor and Clark counties were bringing up the rear.

This year’s turnout is so far lagging 2021, when about 40% of voters returned ballots.

Voters can register or update their information in person at an elections office before 8 p.m. Tuesday. Oct. 27 was the last day for online and mailed registrations.

To track your ballot, visit voteWA.gov.

What’s on the ballot?

Only one measure will appear on every ballot of the more than 5 million registered voters in Washington.

Senate Joint Resolution 8201 is a question of whether to invest tax dollars collected for the state’s new long-term care program, known as WA Cares, in the stock market. This would be similar to how the state handles pension and retirement funds.

Currently, the collections for WA Cares are invested in more vanilla investments, like government bonds and certificates of deposit.

Advocates of the constitutional amendment argue the stock market would lead to larger returns and keep premiums low. Opponents say it amounts to “gambling in the stock market” with taxpayer dollars.

A similar measure failed in 2020.

A slew of vacated seats in the state Legislature are also up for grabs. The most notable is in the 26th Legislative District, covering parts of Pierce and Kitsap Counties, where Democratic Sen. Deb Krishnadasan is looking to retain the seat against Republican state Rep. Michelle Caldier.

This race in a purple district gives Republicans a rare chance to narrow the Democratic majority in the state Senate.

Conservatives are also hoping for good news out of the 5th Legislative District in east King County. Former lawmaker Chad Magendanz is looking to unseat Democratic Sen. Victoria Hunt, who was appointed after the unexpected death of Sen. Bill Ramos earlier this year. Hunt won the primary comfortably. She was serving in the House before moving to the Senate.

A couple of Democrat-on-Democrat battles could also serve as a barometer of how voters feel about the more progressive turn the Legislature has taken in recent years.

State Rep. Amy Walen hopes to be a more moderate voice among Senate Democrats in her campaign against Sen. Vandana Slatter in the 48th Legislative District, representing parts of Redmond, Bellevue and Kirkland. Slatter led Walen handily in the August primary.

And in the 33rd Legislative District, Burien Mayor Kevin Schilling is more of a centrist Democrat, while Rep. Edwin Obras this year followed the Democratic party line in voting for tax increases, a cap on residential rent increases and other controversial policies backed by progressives.

Those four races are the ones to watch, but five other appointed Democratic lawmakers appear on Tuesday’s ballot.

Democratic Eastside Reps. Janice Zahn and Osman Salahuddin are expected to sail to victory over Republican opponents. And state Sens. Tina Orwall, D-Des Moines, and Emily Alvarado, D-Seattle, as well as Rep. Brianna Thomas, are running opposed.

Snohomish County judges Tam Bui and Karen Moore are also vying for a seat on the state’s Division 1 Court of Appeals.

Washington State Standard is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Washington State Standard maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Bill Lucia for questions: info@washingtonstatestandard.com.