Washington’s Primary Election Tuesday: August 4th

Posted by Joe Adamack on August 3, 2026

Tomorrow marks the deadline for Washington voters to turn in their ballots in order to participate in the state’s primary election. While the state has a later primary than most, it joins 13 other states in deciding who will appear on the general election ballot in the month of August.

Unlike states with a closed primary for choosing which candidate will represent each party in November, Washington features a “Top 2” primary, meaning the two candidates with the most votes move onto the general election regardless of party preference.

This year we’ll see all 98 positions in the House of Representatives up for election for a two-year term while 24 of 29 Senate seats are up for a four-year terms. While there are no statewide offices on the ballot this year there are multiple state Supreme Court seats without incumbents which is uncommon.

A few key numbers:

• Washington is home to 5.1 million registered voters.
• Only 15% of those voters have returned a ballot so far (although many people wait until the last second).
• Voters over the age of 65 have a ballot return rate of 35% while those ages 18-24 are currently at 5%.
• Garfield County has the highest ballot return rate so far at 29%.

Given Washington’s mail-in voting system ballots can be returned via USPS or an official county elections drop box. Notably ballots returned so far in this primary election are equally split between mail and drop boxes.

For more information visit the Washington Secretary of State’s Office or local county election agency’s web site.

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Washington Advocacy.