Voter turnout rose to 50.39 percent in Clallam County as elections officials in that county added 2,244 ballots Friday afternoon to the count of Tuesday’s school levy elections, which changed no outcomes.
Passage rates for the property tax levy requests from the Sequim and Quillayute Valley school districts remained at about two-thirds after Clallam County’s updated count, Auditor Patty Rosand reported Friday afternoon.
Only a simple majority is required to pass.
In the two school districts, 12,408 ballots have been returned out of 24,622 mailed to Clallam County registered voters.
With only a few ballots in each district, Jefferson County elections officials decided not to count again until just before the election is certified Feb. 26.
Voter turnout in Jefferson County was 44.60 percent in the two districts, with 183 ballots returned out of 405 mailed.
Rosand said Friday her office will not update the count until certification day.
Ballots flagged for the canvass board with missing or potentially mismatched signatures will make up the bulk of that count.
Sequim
The districtwide count for Sequim’s four-year maintenance levy is now 7,601 in favor, or 67.6 percent, to 3,643 against, or 32.4 percent. On Tuesday, it passed by 67.17 percent.
The four-year maintenance-and-operations levy will provide $5.8 million from 2014 to 2017.
Approval of the one-year bus-replacement levy is now 7,301 in favor, or 64.9 percent, to 3,949 against, or 35 percent. On Tuesday, it passed by 64.63 percent.
The onetime bus-replacement levy will provide $1.6 million with which the district will purchase 17 new buses in 2014 and 2015.
The estimated levy rate from the Assessor’s Office for the maintenance-and-operations levy is $1.611 per $1,000 of assessed value in 2014, $1.611 in 2015, $1.608 in 2016 and $1.607 in 2017. The transportation levy is an estimated rate of 44 cents per $1,000 of assessed property value.
Forks
The updated count widened the passage rate for the Quillayute Valley School District’s four-year property tax levy.
The levy districtwide won 891 votes, or 68.9 percent, in favor to 401 votes against, or 31 percent. On Tuesday, the levy passed by 67.93 percent.
The levy will generate $628,000 a year from 2014 through 2017.
The funds will be used to upgrade crosswalks and sidewalks, resurface the track and repair and replace equipment.
The estimated levy rate is expected to decline from $1.45 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2014 to $1.42 per $1,000 of assessed property value in 2017.