Washington: What to expect on election night

What to expect on election night in Washington state? A long wait.

If control of the U.S. House comes down to congressional races there, it could take days — or weeks — for the nation to know the outcome. Washington’s vote-by-mail system leads to some of the highest voter turnout in the nation, but is not a system that leads to fast results.

Two of the state's 10 U.S. House seats have garnered national attention heading into November: the 8th district, where Democratic Rep. Kim Schrier faces Republican Matt Larkin; and the 3rd district, which became an open contest after the Republican incumbent, Jaime Herrera Beutler, was ousted by a candidate backed by former President Donald Trump.

The top race in Washington, however, is between Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who is seeking a sixth term against Republican Tiffany Smiley, a first-time candidate.

In another key race, voters will decide whether to elect their first Democratic secretary of state in six decades or, instead, send a longtime county auditor to be the state’s first nonpartisan chief elections officer.

Republicans were shut out of the state’s “top two” primary in August, which sent current Democratic Secretary of State Steve Hobbs and nonpartisan Pierce County Auditor Julie Anderson to the general election. Republican Rep. Brad Klippert won't appear on the ballot but is mounting a write-in campaign backed by the state GOP.

All 98 seats in the state House are up for election, as are 25 of the 49 in the Senate, with several expected to be competitive.

Here’s a look at what to expect on election night:

ELECTION NIGHT

Polls close at 8 p.m. local time (11 p.m. ET).

HOW WASHINGTON VOTES

Washington is true blue when it comes to most offices — Joe Biden easily won the 2020 presidential election there, and...