It’s Primary Election Day — You Have Until 8 p.m. to Vote
By • June 21, 2022 0 3225
It’s June 21 and in Washington, D.C., that means it’s primary election day for the 2022 midterm elections. Many Georgetown residents whose mailboxes and home entrances have been inundated by large, colorful, blaring vote-for-me election brochures probably are feeling relieved. But it also means final decision time is today by 8 p.m.
Some 63,383 persons — roughly 13 percent of D.C.’s registered Democratic or Republican voters (independents cannot vote in the District’s closed primaries) had already cast their ballots, according to the D.C. Board of Elections (BOE) spreadsheets on June 20. About half (30,221) voted via an absentee ballot that had been sent to every voter registered with a political party in the District. About 21,000 were cast in BOE official drop boxes outside libraries and other public buildings. About 12,000 ballots were cast in early voting in-person locations until Sunday, June 19.
Absentee ballots can still be posted until 8 p.m. In-person voting stations are open until 8 p.m. Voters can go to any station, regardless of ward.
No one is sure what the turnout will be. In the 2020 general election, some 20,000 people voted on election day. In the 2014 and 2018 midterms, a total of 89,000 and 99,000 voted respectively. To equal that, over 33,000 District voters would have to cast votes on election day 2022.
The most competitive race in the District and for Georgetowners, it seems, is the race to be the Democratic nominee for mayor. Incumbent Muriel Bowser is running for an unprecedented third (for a woman) mayoral term and faces a tightening race with At-large Council member Robert White, Jr. The main issue in D.C. at this time is rising crime, especially the city’s homicide rate. Bowser wants to restore funding for 300 police officers cut from her working budget. White wants to keep the cuts and add trained social workers and mediators to the front line force. Some analysts conclude that the D.C. mayoral race reflects tensions in the Democratic party nationwide between — in D.C.’s case —progressives (White, Jr.) and centrists (Bowser).
The first vote tally is expected to be released by the Board of Elections from early vote centers and initial mail-in ballots soon after the polls close around 8 p.m. — although some may close a little later if there are people still in line at 8 p.m., waiting to vote. Most vote results then will be announced intermittently online and through news media updates throughout the evening as they are tallied.
All the results are tentative, however, until a final count on July 1 that will include any late-arriving ballots from the U.S. Postal Service. Certification of all results takes place July 8.
A number of election watch parties are being planned. For example, Anita Bonds will at the Point; Robert White at Hook Hall. Details about time and place are best obtained from the individual candidates’ staffs.
Primary election winners will advance to the Nov. 8 general election.
