PORT TOWNSEND — The Jefferson County sheriff and auditor races remained too close to call after a second count of ballots Wednesday.
In the count of general election ballots, sheriff candidate David Stanko and auditor candidate Rose Ann Carroll maintained slim leads.
The Jefferson County Auditor’s Office has counted 15,680 votes out of 22,867 issued, a 68.57 percent voter turnout.
The second count showed that Stanko earned 7,317 votes, or 50.62 percent, to Wendy Davis’ 7,022 votes, or 48.58 percent, a 295-vote margin.
On Tuesday night, 468 votes separated them.
In the auditor’s race, Carroll had 6,346 votes, or 50.04 percent, over Judy Maves-Klatt’s 6,204 votes, or 48.92 percent, a 142-vote margin, narrower than the initial count’s 216-vote margin.
According to Elections Supervisor Betty Johnson, about 350 votes remain uncounted, plus whatever comes in Thursday’s mail.
Those ballots could be counted as soon as Thursday afternoon or Friday at the latest, Johnson said.
The sheriff’s candidates have not declared victory or conceded defeat.
“It’s still too close to call,” Stanko said. “Maybe we’ll know tomorrow. I’m willing to wait until the end when the voters will decide who will be the next sheriff.”
Davis said in a text message: “We knew it would be tough for many voters to accept a woman as their next sheriff.
“I am cautiously optimistic that the numbers will continue to trend my way as more ballots are counted.”
Davis, 47, of Port Ludlow is currently human resources manager for Port Ludlow Associates.
She served in the Bremerton Police Department as a sergeant and also in the Poulsbo Police Department, first as deputy chief and then as a sergeant.
Stanko, 66, retired in 2004 from the Fullerton (Calif.) Police Department.
He lives in Cape George and is an active volunteer who was named 2011 Citizen of the Year by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.
Both are Democrats, although Stanko has said he plans to change his affiliation to independent.
Carroll, 64, of Port Townsend is chief accountant in the Auditor’s Office and has the endorsement of Donna Eldridge, who is retiring after
five terms,
Maves-Klatt, 52, an appraiser and former attorney, is a resident of Port Townsend.
Both are Democrats.
Other county contest results are:
■ County commission — Kathleen Kler, 8,003, or 57.03 percent; Daniel S. Toepper, 5,992, or 42.70 percent.
■ Prosecuting attorney — Michael Haas, 7,781, or 61.90 percent; Scott Rosekrans, 4,678, or 37.22 percent.
■ District Court judge — Jill Landis, 7,152, or 54.46 percent; Cheryl Potebnya, 5,920, or 45.08 percent.
■ Jefferson County Public Utility District — Kenneth Collins, 6,961, or 55.48 percent; Tony De Leo, 8,511, or 43.92 percent.
■ Quilcene Fire Department property tax levy increase — Approve, 601, or 67.08 percent; reject, 295, or 32.92 percent.
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MORE MAIL BALLOTS are expected to arrive today and Thursday at the county auditor’s offices in Port Angeles and Port Townsend.
The ballots are expected to decide four close races across the North Olympic Peninsula . . . for Jefferson County sheriff, Clallam County District 3 commissioner, Clallam County prosecuting attorney and Jefferson County auditor.
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 expects about 2,000 more ballots to come in later this week.
The next Jefferson County count will be at 3:30 p.m. today.
The Clallam County Auditor’s Office counted 18,242 ballots Tuesday out of 46,908 issued for a voter turnout of 38.9 percent, Auditor Patty Rosand said.
The Auditor’s Office received 3,952 ballots in the mail and in drop boxes on Tuesday. Those were not counted, but brought voter turnout to 47.13 percent.
Rosand expects 7,000 more ballots to come in by Wednesday, “and then it’s going to trickle off,” she said.
The next vote count has been scheduled for Friday, Rosand said.
More ballot counts across the state will also decide a statewide initiative to reduce K-12 class sizes; it was too close to call in Tuesday’s vote count.
I-594, the state initiative to expand background checks on gun buyers, won 59.9 percent of votes counted on Tuesday.
I-591, which would prohibit stronger background checks, was failing with 54.6 percent voting no.
On the national front, resurgent Republicans took control of the Senate on Tuesday night, expanded their hold on the House, and defended some of the most closely contested governors’ races, in a repudiation of President Obama that will reorder the political map in his final years in office.
To follow the national post-election developments, go to the “Nation/World” button at the top of this page.
Then go to “AP News” and click. AND hit your ‘refresh’ to make sure you get the latest news.
There are also still photos and video at the AP News site. The Associated Press, a nonprofit cooperative owned by U.S. newspapers, is the largest newsgathering agency in the world.
Other links:
Clallam election results: http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/clallam/
Jefferson election results: http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/jefferson/
Statewide election results: http://results.vote.wa.gov/results/current/
National election results: http://elections.nytimes.com/2014/liveblog
