February ballot mailout exceeds 19,000

The auditor’s elections office will mail out more than 19,000 ballots Monday for the Feb. 11 election. Elections Supervisor Debbie Hooper said ballots will go to all voters in the county because the county’s levy lid measure is on the ballot. The county seeks a 22 cent increase in the property levy base to $1.60 per $1,000 assessed valuation beginning in 2015.

The ballot includes 16 measures with all of them involved in funding requests. Oakesdale School district’s request for a $7.16 million bond measure for updating the school buildings tops the list of school district requests. Most school district measures seek extensions of maintenance and operation requests.

Colfax school district voters will decide on a $1.2 million maintenance and operation levy proposal for each of the next two years starting in 2015 with an estimated levy rate of $3.19 per thousand.

Colfax precincts will also be among those which will have the Whitman County Library District’s request for a reset on the levy lid to 50 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation. If approved, the levy reset would allow the district to increase its levy by 7.08 cents per $1,000 of evaluation.

Postmark deadline for return of Friday’s mailed ballots will be the Feb. 11 election date. Ballots in Colfax can also be dropped off in the elections office during operating hours or in the alley behind the elections office at any time of day.

Ballots in Pullman can also be dropped off at the city clerk’s office, the drop box on 200 Paradise Street or on the WSU campus west of the CUB.