This is my second update, with new numbers just posted and counting continuing into the evening. I am, in particular, watching (1) the progress of mail-in ballots and (2) the race for the governorship.

(1) MAIL-IN BALLOTS: Washington has an all mail-in ballot system, and I have been watching the progress of the vote tally here, with an eye on how this would play out if there were an all mail-in ballot system nationally for the November election. Basically, this has been a very slow process even in a primary where relatively few ballots are cast (so far 31.8% voter turnout) and in a state that has decades of experience in all mail-in voting.

As of yesterday (Aug. 4): 1.25m ballots counted; 470k ballots on hand to be counted; unknown number of ballots to be collected from dropboxes, processed individually for correct signatures, and have votes tallied; unknown number of ballots to be received through US mail, processed individually for correct signatures, and have votes tallied.

As of today (Aug. 5): 1.45m ballots counted; 620k ballots on hand to be counted; unknown number of ballots to be collected from dropboxes, processed individually for correct signatures, and have votes tallied; unknown number of ballots to be received through US mail, processed individually for correct signatures, and have votes tallied.

Thus, 200k ballots have been counted so far today, with more than 620k on hand still to be processed and an unknown thousands more to be collected from dropboxes or received through the mail. With probably double the number of ballots to be cast in November, we're looking at a long, long time for ballots to be tallied in a state with decades of experience with mail-in ballots. Think about what that means in a national election involving states with little or no experience with all mail-in balloting. No more staying up on election night to find out who has won.

(2) GOVERNOR'S RACE: Current governor Inslee is looking like he is heading for another win, but he has most definitely lost a lot of support and is not a lock. We have 36 candidates for governor here, with a couple of democrats, a whole bunch or republicans, and an odd variety of other parties (the StandUpAmerica Party, the Propertarianist Party, etc.). Inslee is currently at 51.3% and the total of the various republican and/or conservative-sounding candidates is 44.3%; there are also a number of other unaffiliated/no party preference/independent candidates. The leading republican candidate, who would run against Inslee in November if current numbers hold, is Loren Culp, who served in the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, owned a construction company for 20 years, is currently a smalltown chief of police, and is married to his highschool sweetheart, with seven grandchildren.