It looks like a reversal — but, as CHS has been saying, the votes have already long been cast. King County Elections — and the rest of us — are just catching up.
Turns out Wilson’s “Election Night” is still going
The first major count of later-voter ballots collected from King County drop-boxes has produced the start of what many Katie Wilson supporters have been waiting for.
Thursday, Wilson claimed nearly 52% of the count as tallied ballots approached 35% on their way to a predicted 45% to 50% turnout. The showing reverses the first two counts that King County Elections said focused on ballots received by mail.
Wilson’s camp has expressed confidence that later ballots would swing their way and thwart Mayor Bruce Harrell’s re-election bid.
“We were thrilled yesterday to see voters lining up to fill ballot boxes throughout the city,” Wilson said about Wednesday’s update. “We continue to feel hopeful about this race, and we look forward to the results when all the votes are counted.”
Harrell’s camp got in front of the expected turnaround with a message to supporters Thursday just minutes before the third day’s drop calling for financial support as the campaign prepares to mount an effort to make sure “every vote is counted.”
“This is the stage of a campaign where organization and preparation make all the difference,” the campaign message read. “Bruce has led this city with integrity and compassion, delivering major progress on homelessness, public safety, climate, and economic recovery. Now we need to finish the job and make sure every vote for that vision is counted.”
The last time an incumbent mayor was reelected in Seattle was in 2005 when Greg Nickels won a second term.
Wednesday, CHS reported on the peculiarities of Washington’s by-mail system as ballots will continue to be processed over coming days. In past races, progressive candidates have generally seen their tallies rise as the later ballots from younger, poorer, and more likely to rent voters are counted. In 2019, for example, D3 rep Kshama Sawant went from more than eight percentage points down on Election Night to a solid 4.13-percentage point win in her re-election battle.
Sawant’s reversal that year started with a 59% third count. Wilson’s 52 point day is a start but a massive gap remains.
UPDATE: King County Elections reports around 104,000 Seattle ballots returned but not yet counted as of Thursday night. With that total, Wilson’s name must be bubbled-in on at around 56% for her to claim victory.
Following warnings of possible mail delays due to new USPS policies, the county is dealing with what appears to be an unprecedented level of ballots from its drop boxes. According to King County Elections, about 69% of the 2025 General Election ballots from the city’s voters were dropped in a box — not mailed — leaving officials to deal with more than 190,000 drop-box ballots. In the 2021 election the last time the Seattle mayor’s office was up for grabs, the county says it collected 159,000 from drop boxes — about 59% of its total that year.
Seattle ballot return statistics
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