Franklin Connection - Serving Franklin County, WA

KENNEWICK — Benton County Sheriff Jerry Hatcher is on his way to being recalled from office.

An initial tally of the Aug. 3 primary election results at 8:30 p.m., showed more than 75% of voters calling for his removal from the county's top law enforcement office.

The preliminary results of the first day of counting ballots show 21,436 voters casting ballots to recall him, compared to 7,140 wanting him to remain.

Benton County's election turnout, so far, is only 23.55%, county Elections Department data shows.

With 29,762 ballots already counted, the county estimates it has at least 8,000 more to count.