VANCOUVER, Wash. — The evening of Election Day, a long line of voters formed outside the Clark County Elections office in Vancouver. It persisted well past the 8 p.m. ballot drop-off deadline in a vote-by-mail state that typically doesn't see voting in person at this magnitude.
When KGW reporter Evan Watson spoke to people in the line hours before 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, most said that they were there for same-day registration or to cast their votes in person. Many said they'd either moved recently, didn't register before now, needed to cure an issue with their ballot or wanted to fill out a provisional ballot because they didn't receive one in the mail.
The line extended out the door of the elections office and far down the block, and it was still there well into the night. As of 9:30 p.m., the line still extended down the block. Some people said they'd been waiting in line for three hours.
PHOTOS: Clark County Elections line
There was no mention from any of the voters who spoke with KGW that they were voting in-person due to concerns about a series of ballot box arsons, two of which happened in Vancouver.
Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey, who spoke to KGW outside, said it was good to see so many people lining up to vote. However, he couldn't say why it was happening this year, when it hasn't happened before.
"This is just unprecedented," Kimsey said. "I've been doing this a long time and I've never seen anything like this."
Kimsey said the elections office was fully-staffed and working to help people, and things were going smoothly. They were letting everyone in line be seen, despite the typical drop-off deadline. All of the people in line had been there since before 8 p.m.
By just before 10 p.m., the line had shrunk significantly, though it still extended out the door and around the building.