More than half of Washington’s voters have returned ballots

OLYMPIA, Wash. - One week out from Election Day, more than half of Washington state’s more than 4.8 million voters have already cast their votes.

The secretary of state’s office reported that as of Tuesday night, 2,560,531 ballots have been returned. In 2016, 28.5% of ballots had been returned in the same timeframe.

The early turnout comes after the vote-by-mail state saw its highest primary turnout in more than five decades, with 55% of registered voters participating in the August election. Election officials have been preparing for turnout of up to 90% for next week’s election, which would surpass the previous record of 84.6% in 2008.

Related: King County elections office says vote by mail or drop box is safe

Of the state’s 39 counties, 17 saw returns of more than 50%. Four counties were at 60% or higher. In King County, the state’s most populous county, 56.3% of voters have returned their ballots.

In addition to voting for president and weighing in on 10 congressional races, voters will also decide on several statewide races including governor and lieutenant governor, scores of legislative races and a ballot measure on sex education.

Voters have until 8 p.m. Nov. 3 to drop their ballot at a dropbox or, if they mail it, it must be postmarked by Election Day.