“We are working hard to count and report the highest volume of ballots possible. To accomplish this, we need more time today,” said Julie Anderson, Pierce County Auditor. “We’re also going to work all day on Saturday, Nov. 8. It’s been a challenge to recover from the huge volume of ballots received on November 4 and November 5. Working late tonight and on Saturday should help us catch up.”

Election Manager Mike Rooney projects that tonight’s release will add 30,000 votes to Pierce County’s total. At 8 p.m., this will account for approximately 86% of the Pierce County’s expected votes. Ballots are still arriving.

“Our projection for voter turnout hasn’t changed,” Auditor Anderson said. “We still think that Pierce County will be in the 51 to 52 percent turnout range. However, we received a historic number of ballots on Election Day. Not many people voted, but the ones that did waited until the last possible moment.”