PORT TOWNSEND — Deputy County Auditor Rose Ann Carroll took a slim lead in the race for Jefferson County auditor as election returns came in Tuesday night.
Carroll had garnered 5,517 votes, or 51 percent, while real estate appraiser Judy Maves-Klatt had 5,301 votes, or 49 percent.
“I’m going to wait and see how it finishes out,” said Carroll, a 64-year-old resident of Port Townsend.
“I worked really hard,” she added.
Maves-Klatt, 52, also of Port Townsend, could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
Incumbent Donna Eldridge did not run for re-election to the nonpartisan auditor’s post, which has a four-year term and an annual salary of $73,470.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office counted 13,402 ballots Tuesday out of 22,207 issued for a voter turnout of 58.64 percent.
Auditor Donna Eldridge said she expects about 2,000 more ballots to come in later this week.
The next count has been scheduled for about 2 p.m. Thursday unless staff can process all the ballots that come in today (Wednesday).
In that case, a count will be done today, Eldridge said.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
