Gordon Forgey

The preliminary election count was tallied Tuesday night.

The next count will be Friday.

Even so, most issues can be declared successfully passed.

Every Maintenance and Operations levy for every school district on the ballot passed comfortably. Not one ran into trouble with the voter.

Voters in the county long ago wanted more for their schools and have traditionally given them extra, local funding.

Also on the plus side, the Whitman County Library District and Pullman Regional Hospital levies passed with substantial positive margins.

Still up in the air, the Whitman County levy lift request has received just slightly more than 50 percent approval. At this point, only 37 votes keep it on the positive side. This was the county’s first effort at increasing its property tax revenues by a vote of the people. It needs a simple majority to pass. In this squeaker, the county received its most consistent approval from Pullman precincts.

The biggest school related ballot issue was the $7.1 million construction bond over 25 years for the Oakesdale School District. It has failed, not meeting the required 60 percent approval. This was the district’s second effort to raise money for school renovation.

About 300 ballots were on hand Tuesday that still needed to be counted. More will be coming in the mail. The Friday count of ballots should include the bulk of remaining eligible votes and should indicate the final outcome of the election.

A final figure for voter turnout will be reported later. For this first round of counting, turnout was a mere 34 percent. That, of course, will vary from ballot issue to ballot issue, but whatever the outcome, it, in general, indicates few citizens are deciding important issues.

Gordon Forgey,

Publisher