Election Night on Capitol Hill: ‘late voter’ drop-box lines, big transit win, and split trans initiative counts

The long lines at the Broadway ballot drop box were testament. Voter enthusiasm for progressive policies and candidates willing to fight for them was high on Election Night as national victories connected to important decisions here at home. And, yes, even when the stakes are high, “late voters” ruled on Capitol Hill.

On E Pike, organizers from No Hate in Washington State gathered at Neumos on Capitol Hill to watch the first results come in on the two statewide initiatives the coalition was created to stand against. Back in February, CHS talked with organizer Danni Askini of the Capitol Hill-based Gender Justice League about the effort that grew to lead the statewide fight.

Initiative 001 sought to enforce parental rights measures regarding public school curriculum review, record access, and parental notifications for student health services while Initiative 638 would prohibit transgender girls from participating in women’s school sports and institute biological sex verification requirements for student athletes.

Election Night’s first count showed a split on the hoped-for “no” results with organizers pinning hopes on later voters to close the gap on 638.

Meanwhile, the votes for the State Senate race in the 43rd District representing the area including most of Capitol Hill fell along lines similar to the primary.

Two-decade incumbent State Sen. Jamie Pedersen produced a 67% showing in August winning precincts across Capitol Hill and most of the 43rd District save for a few blocks of central Broadway where first-time challenger and “Tax the Rich” proponent Hannah Sabio-Howell managed a flat-footed tie.

Pedersen’s November election victory will take on similar proportions. CHS reported here on the funding surge behind Pedersen, the party’s current Majority Leader in the state Senate, an architect of the Millionaires Tax, and a veteran lawmaker who has been part of 43rd District leadership for twenty years, as state Democratic leaders helped lock down the race so institutional donors and statewide PACs could shift their war chests to competitive general election battlegrounds elsewhere in the state.

Statewide, voters were also roundly rejecting an initiative to repeal Pedersen’s Millionaires Tax.

For Seattle voters, the decision was apparently easy on the the 2026 Seattle Transit Measure and its proposed 10-year renewal funded by a 0.3% sales tax championed by Mayor Katie Wilson to allow the city to purchase increased bus service on key routes.

The Election Night first count tallied nearly 73% support for the tax increase.

Officials say the tax bump will expand Seattle’s capacity from 180,000 to 280,000 annual bus trips — a 47% increase in total service. The plan boosts frequencies on 10 to 15 key routes, expands late-night and weekend service, and prioritizes electric buses in South Seattle and the Duwamish Valley. The measure will “double the number of free ORCA cards provided to low-income households” by expanding subsidized passes to 12,000 additional residents, while allocating funds to “support the recommendations of the King County Regional Transit Safety Task Force.”

Meanwhile, voters in North Seattle are making a choice that could shift the makeup of the Seattle City Council. First counts show progressive advocate Nilu Jenks besting educator Julie Kang for the District 5 seat on the council.

Beyond the 43rd District Senate contest and the transit measure, Capitol Hill and Central District voters weighed in on federal representation for Washington’s 7th Congressional District, multiple state legislative seats across both the 43rd and 37th districts spanning both House positions and the 37th District Senate seat, and countywide races including King County Prosecuting Attorney, King County Assessor, and King County Council District 2 where State Senator Rebecca Saldaña held a strong lead over Port Commissioner Toshiko Hasegawa for the seat.

Ballots also included Seattle Municipal Court judicial seats. Many candidates ran unopposed or faced longshot challengers. Capitol Hill and Central District voters also filled in the bubbles in several key statewide judicial races.

Voter turnout in King County was trending high with Seattle as a whole just over 48% by early Election Night. That number will surely climb with District 3 and Capitol Hill’s classic surge of “late voters.”

Results will continue to roll in from Washington’s by-mail and by-drop box election over the coming day. You can view all the numbers at results.votewa.gov.