County ballot returns are light at 15.6 percent
Published 12:01 am Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Tuesday is the final day to vote in the primary election, and there are plenty of ballots to be turned in.
Only 61,000 Snohomish County voters had marked and returned their ballots as of Monday morning. That’s about 15.6 percent of eligible voters.
At this pace, final turnout would wind up below the 29 percent predicted by Snohomish County Auditor Carolyn Weikel.
“Turnout is lower than expected right now,” Weikel said Monday afternoon. “Voters have fooled us before. When counting was all over we wound up meeting our projection. Maybe they’ll fool us again.”
Snohomish County voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday to put their ballots in a designated drop-off box. If a ballot is put in the mail, it must be postmarked by midnight to be counted.
The most closely watched countywide race pits Democrat County Executive Aaron Reardon against Republican Mike Hope. It will not be resolved Tuesday though the outcome may give some clues on how it will play out in November’s general election.
Tuesday’s results will affect pocket books and political leadership in several communities.
In Snohomish, voters are deciding the fate of Proposition 1, which would increase the city’s sales tax by two-tenths of a penny for a decade and use the money to resurface streets, fix signals and improve a couple of intersections.
Turnout is above 20 percent in Arlington where voters are narrowing the field for a successor to Mayor Margaret Larson. Six people are competing, and the top two will move on to a November face-off.
In Edmonds, Mayor Mike Cooper is battling for his job against two former councilmen, Dave Earling and Roger Hertrich. In this race, Earling has raised and spent more than Cooper.
School board races in Marysville, Edmonds, Everett and Monroe drew crowds of candidates, and voters are figuring out whom they want put in charge of education policy for the children in their communities.
In the Everett School District, six people are competing for an open seat, and only the top two vote recipients will move on.
In Monroe, there is a bit of a twist as voters look to thin the ranks of competitors for a school board seat. There are three challengers to the incumbent, Debra Kolrud, including a husband and wife — Joel Selling and Nancy Truitt Pierce – and Scott Furrer.
Initial results will be posted online shortly after 8 p.m. They can be found on the county elections website at www.snoco.org/elections.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
Where to drop-off ballots
Ballots can be placed in any of these drop-off boxes until 8 p.m.
Arlington Sno-Isle Library, 135 N. Washington Ave.
Edmonds Sno-Isle Library, 650 Main St.
Everett Courthouse Campus, Wall Street side
McCollum Park, west lot, 600 128th St. SE, Mill Creek
Lynnwood Sno-Isle Library, 19200 44th Ave. W
Marysville Municipal Court, 1015 State Ave.
Monroe Sno-Isle Library, 1070 Village Way
Mukilteo Sno-Isle Library, 4675 Harbour Pointe Blvd.
Snohomish Sno-Isle Library, 311 Maple Ave.
Voters also can cast ballots on touch screen voting equipment until 8 p.m. at the following locations:
Snohomish County Auditor’s Office, first floor administration west building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett
Lynnwood Sno-Isle Library, 19200 44th Ave W.
If you have any questions about your ballot, call 425-388-3444.
