PORT ANGELES — Three Clallam County measures remained approved by voters after more ballots were counted for Tuesday’s special elections on Friday.
Meanwhile, the second count of mail-in ballots widened the margin of victory for the Brinnon School District replacement levy election in Jefferson County.
The margins of passage of the Sequim School District levy, Cape Flattery School District levy and Joyce Fire District levy lid lift changed little from Tuesday’s count after another 1,055 ballots were processed Friday.
A simple majority was needed for passage in all three elections.
“We are predicting that there will be no more than 25 more ballots come in from overseas or military voters and those correcting signatures,” said Patty Rosand, Clallam County Auditor.
Those will be counted on Feb. 24, when the election will be certified. They are not expected to change the outcomes.
Total turnout for the three special elections was 58 percent, with 13,378 ballots returned out of the 23,049 ballots mailed.
Sequim levy
The Sequim school levy passed by 60.4 percent in combined totals from Clallam and Jefferson counties on Friday.
Total votes in the district — which extends from Blue Mountain Road through Sequim to Gardiner in Jefferson County — were 7,499 approving the measure, to 4,916, or 39.5 percent, opposed.
Most voters live in Clallam county, and 20,534 ballots were mailed to its registered voters. The Jefferson County auditor mailed 253 ballots to district voters.
Clallam County voters approved the measure by 7,415 votes, or 60.4 percent, to 4,844 votes, or 39.5 percent.
Jefferson County voters approved it by 84 votes, or 53.8 percent, to 72 votes, or 46.1 percent.
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office reported 839 more ballots were processed for the Sequim election on Friday.
The school levy will replace the present one, which is 77 cents per $1,000 assessed valuation, when it expires at the end of this year. Over the next three years, the rate will increase to 98 cents, $1.19 and $1.40 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
Cape Flattery, Joyce
Passage of the Cape Flattery School District maintenance and operations levy rose from 80.6 percent to 81.1 percent on Friday. The yes votes outnumbered the no votes 357 to 83.
The Cape Flattery school levy is a four-year extension of an existing $350,000 property tax levy estimated at $2.33 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
The levy supplements state funding for drug and alcohol prevention, nursing services, campus maintenance, technology, transportation, library, textbooks and supplies.
After Friday’s count, Joyce voters had approved the Clallam County Fire District No. 4 levy lid lift by 57.8 percent of 669 ballots counted. Yes votes outnumbered no votes 387 to 282, a 1 percent drop from Tuesday night.
Brinnon
A second count of mail-in ballots Friday widened the margin of victory for the Brinnon School District replacement levy election, which was Tuesday.
After 180 more ballots were tallied Friday, the measure had 360 votes in favor, or 61.02 percent, to 230 votes, or 38.98 percent, opposed, the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office elections division said.
“We don’t have any other ballots to count at this point,” said Karen Cartmel, deputy auditor for elections.
Two ballots are outstanding — one with a questionable signature and another with no signature. If they are verified with the voters, the two ballots could be counted when the election is certified Feb. 24.
Voter turnout for the election was 61.79 percent.
The auditor’s elections division mailed out 1,209 ballots Jan. 19. Of the ballots mailed, 747 were returned.
