What is the defining characteristic of the electorate in this part of the country? Ask almost anyone around the country and they’re likely to say, “It’s blue.”

While it’s true the region consistently votes for Democrats, that’s not what makes us stand out the most. Half of the country is blue. We were top five in terms of voter turnout, depending on the number cruncher. More about our solid citizenry last.     

First, a deeper look at how Jefferson County voted in terms of federal elections and state ballot initiatives according to the official county election report.

Yes, we’re blue: Democrat Kamala Harris took 70.7% of the ballots cast, or 17,459 votes, compared to 25.6%, or 6,324 cast for Donald Trump. (Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who cast his lot in with Trump, but not in time to get off the ballot, came in with 306 votes. There were a host of others picking up small numbers.)

Sen. Maria Cantwell was the top vote-getter in the state, garnering 17,621 votes in Jefferson County, nearly 1% more than did Harris, and easily besting Dr. Raul Garcia to return to Washington for her fifth term. Garcia got 378 more votes than did Trump.

Emily Randall is heading to Congress for her freshman year, having secured 17,214 votes compared to Republican Drew C. MacEwen, who took 7,081, beating Trump’s take by an even wider 757 votes.

We’re blue, too, in terms of the outcomes of three of the four ballot initiatives rejected by Washington voters, which would have repealed capital gains (by 64%), the cap on carbon emissions (by 62%), and whether people can opt out of a state long-term health care program (by 55.5%). If Jefferson County had its way, the fourth initiative wouldn’t have passed, either. Measure 2066, which concerned regulation of energy services, including gas. It narrowly passed with 51% of the vote statewide. Some 64% voted no on 2066 in Jefferson County.

Consider the undervote

The undervote is when a voter makes fewer choices than are offered on a ballot, leaving a category or categories blank. Perhaps the voter doesn’t like the options for a particular category, doesn’t know enough to make a responsible choice, or somehow, “Oopsie, forgot.”

My wager is that there weren’t many of the last one, given the spread in undervotes.

Measure 2066 was left blank by 991 voters, while 1,033 voters skipped over Measure 2124, which would have allowed people to opt out of long-term health care. Compare that to just 215 undervotes in the national presidential election in Jefferson County, 542 for U.S. Senate, and 581 in the race for the seat in the U.S. Congress. I’m putting my money on those variations being a reflection of a smart, engaged voter.

You’ll forgive me here for using a different source in order to get a decidedly non-scientific look at how we compare nationwide on a hyper-local basis to further make this point.

Washington was fifth among all states for voter turnout this cycle, according to WorldPopulationReview.com, a for-profit entity that provides global population data and demographics. (This is a basic look that parallels mainstream, more detailed sources that are still number crunching. While there may be some slight variation in numbers, they are very close.)

World Population Review has Washington’s turnout at 75.7%. (First place went to Minnesota, with an average of just under 80%.)

Even our “low-turnout” areas surpassed Minnesota’s based on official county results: Quilcene saw 82.11% cast votes, while Chimacum came in at 83.58%. Port Townsend and Port Ludlow were at the top, with voters casting ballots at the rate of 89.75% and 90.5%, respectively.

The other end of the list created by World Population Review’s simple view is also worth a look. Last place in the continental United States was Oklahoma, with 55% percent of registered voters casting ballots.Texas voters showed up at just under 60.5%. 

Washington falls fairly high on the list of state turnout regardless of who selects the lens.

That said, the best stat in my view comes from the  Washington office of the Secretary of State: which has Jefferson County turnout at 87.3%, the highest voter turnout of any of the 39 counties in the state.

I may be weighing different measures but Jefferson County’s numbers reflect an incredibly solid citizenry, no matter how you look at it.

Imagine what the national election results would be if voters in every county in every state were as engaged as voters here.

Reach Meredith Jordan at editor@pt.leader.com.