Evan Smith: Ballots trickle in; school bond issue, library levy appear to have won

By Evan Smith
ShorelineAreaNews Politics Writer

Both the Shoreline School District construction bond issue and the King County Library levy appear to have passed with seemingly insurmountable margins.

Ballots are trickling in at such a slow rate that there aren’t enough ballots left to keep either measure from passing.

The Shoreline School District bond issue had a 421-vote margin over the required 60 percent approval rate Thursday. That margin is five votes more than it was a day earlier.

Thirteen new Shoreline and Lake Forest Park ballots arrived in the elections office Thursday. Even if five times that many were to arrive each day through certification Wednesday, Feb. 24, and all were negative, there wouldn’t be enough votes to change the results.

Elections officials accept ballots for two weeks after the election to allow time for people with missing and invalid signatures to make corrections and to allow time for ballots to arrive from military and other overseas voters.

The School District maintenance-and-operations levy and the technology levy both continue their overwhelming approval margins.

Voter turnout through Thursday in Shoreline and Lake Forest Park was 42.6 percent, compared to 37 percent throughout the County Library District.

The Library levy was passing by 988 votes Thursday, compared to 972 votes a day earlier.
The vote count as of 4:30 p.m. Thursday:

	SHORELINE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 412
	Ballots Cast/Registered Voters												18,030	/	42,352	42.57%
Proposition No. 1 Replacement of Expiring Levy for Educational Programs, Maintenance and Operations
(Simple majority to pass)
	YES							12,617			70.34%
	NO Total votes Undervotes Total ballots							5,319 17,936 94 18,030			29.66% 100.00%
Proposition No. 2 Bonds for Modernization/Replacement of Shorecrest and Shorewood High Schools
(Requires 60% approval)
	APPROVED								10,738			62.45%
	REJECTED Total votes Undervotes Total ballots								6,457 17,195 835 18,030			37.55% 100.00%
Proposition No. 3 Capital Levy for Technology Improvements and Support (Simple majority to pass)
	YES			11,353						65.85%
		NO Total votes Undervotes Total ballots					5,889 17,242 788 18,030			34.15% 100.00%

KING COUNTY RURAL LIBRARY DISTRICT
	Ballots Cast/Reg. Voters				239,900	/	647,133	37.07%
Proposition No. 1 (Simple majority for passage)
	YES		123,909	52.08%
	NO		114,021	47.92%