Adams Co. turnout down from 2020 general election

RITZVILLE — About 62.5% of eligible Adams County voters cast ballots in the 2024 general election. That’s a lower percentage of voters that cast ballots in either 2020 or 2016.  

About 72.6% of eligible voters voted in 2016, and about 76% in 2020.  

The Adams County Auditor’s Office said 5,213 votes have been counted as of Wednesday with an estimated 100 ballots left to count. Adams County has 8.335 registered voters.  

Adams County Auditor Heidi Hunt said the drop in voter turnout came as a surprise since the people contacting the auditor's office seemed very interested in the election.  

“I felt like the voters were engaged,” she said. 

Typically, the election season prompts some people to call the office to talk about why they don’t plan to vote, she said. But that didn’t happen in 2024; the office got calls from people checking on the status of their ballot instead.  

Voters had some problems in previous elections getting mail-in ballots stamped with the right cancellation date, but the U.S. Post Office worked to alleviate that, she said. 

“The Post Office really stepped up,” Hunt said.  

The auditor’s office set up a voter service center in Othello on Election Day and had a good response from people who hadn’t received or had lost a ballot, she said.  

“(Lower voter turnout) is a tough one to call,” she said.  

The election will be certified Nov. 26 and vote totals will be updated Friday. 

In results to date, incumbent Adams County Commissioner Dan Blankenship is leading challenger David Lobe. Voters have cast 2,854 votes (60.7%) for Blankenship to 1,754 votes (37.3%) for Lobe. Write-in candidates have received 94 votes. 

In the other county commission race, incumbent Jay Weise has received 3,099 votes (66.19%) to 1,498 (31.99%) for challenger Hank Rivard. There are 85 write-in votes. 

Adams County Superior Court Judge K. Peter Palubicki was running unopposed and received 3,737 votes, with 120 write-ins.  

Both Ninth District Washington House of Representatives seats were up for election, and both incumbents drew challengers. Both incumbents were winning as of Wednesday, both in Adams County and in the district as a whole. 

Republican Mary Dye had a substantial lead over Democrat Patrick Miller. Dye had 2,826 votes in Adams County to 809 for Miller. Districtwide, Dye had 47,966 votes to 24,644 for Miller.  

Republican Joe Schmick had 2,860 votes in Adams County to 816 votes for challenger Pam Kohlmeier, a Democrat. Schmick had 47,641 votes districtwide to 25,769 for Kohlmeier.  

The two were the only contested legislative races in a district that includes Adams County. 

Hunt said she always encourages people to vote, even though people may not believe their vote has any impact. She tells them about the Othello City Council race that was decided by one vote, and the Hatton mayoral race that ended in a tie.  

“Your vote is truly your voice,” she said. “The goal is to have everybody exercise their right to vote.”