There may be no more waiting three days for Clallam County election returns beginning in 2019 after Auditor Shoona Riggs learned that the county’s population met a threshold in 2017 that requires daily counts under state law.

Ballots must be counted on a daily basis in counties of over 75,000 population, according to RCW 28A.60.160.

Ballots must be counted at least every third day in counties with under 75,000 population.

Clallam County’s population has increased to 75,474, according to a 2017 Census Bureau estimate.

The population was 74,098 in 2016.

Riggs, re-elected on Nov. 6 without opposition, said last week she had asked the Secretary of State’s Office — she thought it may have been within the last year — whether Clallam had hit the 75,000-population threshold.

Riggs was told, “you haven’t quite hit that threshold yet,” she said.

“I know we are super close,” Riggs said.

She said she did not know the population now exceeds 75,000 until learning of it from the Peninsula Daily News.

“I think we are close enough that we can do daily counts,” Riggs said. “We will be shooting for daily reporting. That’s my goal.”

She said that could come as early as Feb. 12 if any measures are on the special election ballot.

Riggs’ said she and past auditors’ election staffs have waited to make their second count of returns after Election Night on the Friday after the election, which leaves some races in limbo for days.

“I know we’ve got a couple of really close (races),” she said.

Riggs said with a flood of ballots, a new staff and new system, she was waiting until Friday, Nov. 9, to begin counting an estimated 16,000 ballots received Saturday-Friday and probably would not finish counting those ballots until Tuesday, Nov. 13.