The replacement levy for Quilcene School District continued to fail after a second count of Tuesday’s special election ballots on Thursday.
The Quilcene School District educational programs and operations (EP&O) levy was the only measure that had been left in doubt after voters passed seven others in Jefferson and Clallam counties in initial counts of the ballots in Tuesday’s all-mail special election.
Quilcene School District voters opposed the four-year EP&O levy by 407 votes, or 51.52 percent, to 383, or 48.48 percent, in favor after Thursday’s count. The 24-vote difference was double that found in the initial count of ballots on Tuesday night.
Quilcene’s interim superintendent, Ronald Moag, was not available for comment on Thursday. The school district had closed due to inclement weather.
The Quilcene levy would have netted the district a total of $3.8 million through 2028 and helped pay for such programs as athletics, arts education and the district preschool. It would have been $904,537 in 2025, increasing incrementally to more than $1 million in 2028.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office has counted 5,998 ballots out of a total of 13,339 ballots given to registered voters for a voter turnout of 44.97 percent. The next ballot count in Jefferson County will be by 4 p.m. Tuesday. Some 66 ballots were estimated to be on hand on Thursday.
In Clallam County, voter turnout as of Thursday was 31.41 percent, with 2,221 ballots counted out of 7,070 provided to registered voters. The next count will be by 3 p.m. Feb. 22.
Voters in the Queets-Clearwater, Brinnon, Chimacum, Crescent and Cape Flattery public school districts all approved levy increases for their districts. Forks Community Hospital also passed its levy lid lift by a large margin.
All measures required a simple majority (50 percent plus one) to pass.
Updated totals after Thursday ballot counts are as follows:
• Brinnon School District — Voters approved the levy with 358 votes, or 70.47 percent, in favor to 150 votes, or 29.53 percent, opposed.
• Chimacum School District — Voters approved a capital projects levy increase with 2,950 votes, or 63.12 percent, in favor to 1,724 votes, or 36.88 percent, opposed.
• Queets-Clearwater District — A total of 18 voters cast ballots and ultimately approved the EP&O levy increase with 13 votes, or 72.22 percent, in favor and five votes, or 27.78 percent, opposed.
• Forks Community Hospital — The levy lid lift for Forks Community Hospital (Clallam County Public Hospital District No. 1) won 755 votes, or 54.91 percent, in favor and 620 votes, or 45.09 percent, opposed.
• Crescent Schools — Joyce voters have approved two measures for the Crescent School District: a $3.45 million replacement EP&O levy and a $500,000 replacement capital projects levy.
The capital projects levy had 559 votes, or 66.79 percent, in favor and 278 votes, or 33.21 percent, opposed.
The EP&O levy won 547 votes, or 65.35 percent, in favor and 290 votes, or 34.65 percent, opposed.
• Cape Flattery schools — The Cape Flattery School District’s four-year, $1.8 million EP&O replacement levy won 191 votes, or 61.41 percent, in favor and 120 votes, or 38.59 percent, opposed.
The election will be certified on Feb. 23.
