Washington County’s November election results are now official, following two weeks of canvassing due to some school districts sharing voters with other counties.

Since mailed absentee ballots are no longer accepted the Monday after Election Day following the state legislature’s overhaul of voting rules this spring, Washington County Auditor Dan Widmer says none of the races ended with surprise ties or close wins warranting a recount. The county received 2,216 ballots, out of 15,402 registered voters. This amounts to 14.39% voter turnout. Of the total, 272, or about 12.27% voted via absentee, with 228 of those being cast in person at the auditor’s office at the courthouse. While the absentee voting period was shortened from 29 to 20 days this year, Widmer says they still received positive feedback from those who’ve voted early previously, or for the first time, “There were several people that stated how much they appreciated the opportunity to come in and vote ahead of time and for whatever reason they had but that was nice to hear. We did have some people express appreciation or how convenient this is to just come in and vote ahead of time at the auditor’s office and avoid long lines.”

Widmer says the voter turnout was on par for city and school elections, and he was glad that about all voters showed up before the new poll closing time of 8 p.m., an hour earlier than before. He believes his staff handled all the changes for this new election well, including the shortened period to request a mailed absentee ballot, a requirement that voters must drop off their own absentee ballots, and felony charges for county election officials who don’t follow election guidance from the secretary of state. The legislature made those changes following record absentee ballot voting in the 2020 election.