(STORY IMAGE:KHQ.COM)
SPOKANE, Wash. -Tuesday is the final day to get your vote in the mail. As voters, Spokane has created a record turnout this election. So far, the Spokane Elections Office says there have been over 138,000 ballots mailed in. This week, the Spokane Elections Office is preparing for the final votes to be tallied.
"Every ballot that comes in has to go through signature verification, and has to be validated to make sure it's an eligible ballot to be returned," Mike McLaughlin, elections manager, said.
That's where his people come in.
"It has to be inspected, opened, then tabulated," McLaughlin said.
The hot congressional race between Lisa Brown and Cathy McMorris Rodgers is forcing the elections office to bring in even more workers than usual.
As of Monday, just a few hours before Election Day, McLaughlin said more than 50 percent of registered voters have already mailed in their ballots.
But who makes it all come together?
"There are about 135 people that make all this happen," McLaughlin said.
The elections manager said for a midterm election, that's not normal. The elections office is treating this race like they would a presidential election, because that's how big voter turnout has been.
Tuesday, be sure to check what time the mailbox has posted their last pick-up is. Every mailbox around Spokane is different.
If you missed the post office drop-off time, you can check the Spokane Elections Office website to see where their drop-off boxes are. The last pick-up will be at 8 pm.