By RICHARD WALKER
Editor, San Juan Journal
Unofficial results as of 8 p.m. on Feb. 19 indicate that the Orcas Island School District 137 Maintenance and Operations Levy (Proposition No. 1) will pass, with 1,170 or 71.21 percent affirmative votes and 473 or 28.79 percent negative votes cast, with a total number of 5,564 out of 10,858 or 51.24 percent ballots counted.
Thanks to a statewide initiative that was approved in November, the school district levy required only a simple majority – 50 percent plus one – to pass. Levies formerly required 60 percent, a supermajority, for approval.
As of 8 p.m. Feb. 19, the Annexation of Rosario Water was approved by area voters by a slight margin, with 211 of 357 votes counted. Those voting for annexation were 68.93 percent or 142 votes, while those voting against annexation were 31.07 percent or 64 votes.
On Feb. 19, San Juan County Elections Supervisor Doris Schaller said she had received by this morning 5,592 ballots out of 10,858 mailed out countywide — roughly a 50 percent turnout.
It’s the first presidential primary in Washington state since 2000, and elections officials and school funding proponents feared that could create confusion that could hurt the school funding measures.
Here’s the potentially confusing part: The political parties can choose how they allocate delegates — from the results of the precinct caucuses, from the results of the primary election, or from a combination of the two.
The state Democratic Party awarded all of its delegates based on the Feb. 9 caucuses; today’s primary election is a beauty contest for the Democratic candidates. The state Republican Party awarded 49 percent of its delegates based on the caucuses and will award 51 percent of delegates based on today’s primary.
Washington is the only state in the nation to use caucuses and primaries to nominate presidential candidates.
Some elections workers said they feared voters wouldn’t participate in the caucus because they voted, or wouldn’t vote in the primary because they participated in the caucus — which would mean they didn’t vote on the school funding measure.
But today, Schaller said she hadn’t run into any ballot problems and voters had taken the time to vote on the school funding measures.
“I’ve received phone calls from people asking why they have to take a (political party) oath or asking if they can still vote if they went to the caucus. Normal confusion for a primary.”
Schaller and Elections Assistant Victoria Compton worked on Presidents Day processing ballots received so volunteers — the so-called A Team — could “get as many ballots through on Election Day as possible,” Schaller said.
A Team members this year are Barbara Fagan, Ruth Ann Krooswyk and Beth Phillips.
Secretary of State Sam Reed urged voters to cast their ballots today, saying that their vote would still have an impact on the presidential race.
“There’s no better way for a candidate to demonstrate electability in Washington than to win (the) primary,” Reed said in a press release. “At a critical time in their campaigns, these White House hopefuls are competing for the hearts and minds of our voters.”
Statewide, counties are reporting a strong turnout among mail voters, Reed reported. He expected a 47 percent turnout statewide, noting the tight race between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination, and the split Republican caucus vote between leading candidate John McCain and Mike Huckabee.
“There’s more at stake here than delegates,” said Reed, a 30-year election administrator who served five terms as Thurston County auditor before beginning his tenure as Secretary of State in 2001.
“The political parties and donors ultimately want to support someone who can win. The nomination will go to the candidate who can connect with the entire voting public and build enough momentum to capture the White House.”
Sounder editor Margie Doyle contributed to this article,
