General Election: Six local levies still failing

With 6,600 more ballots counted as of Tuesday afternoon, six Whitman County levies are now falling below the 60 percent passing threshold.

The City of Tekoa $50,000 street levy has fallen to 58 percent approval with 146 yes votes and 105 no votes. On election night, the levy was passing at 62 percent.

The Tekoa levy is the lone levy that went from passing to failing in the last week.

Another failing proposal is the City of Colfax Metropolitan Park District, which would form a parks district within the city limits for the purpose of supporting aquatics and parks and recreation programs. The proposal now stands with 587 yes votes (53 percent) and 511 no votes (47 percent). The measure, while still failing, is actually performing better than one week ago when it stood at 49 percent yes and 51 percent no.

Also still below the 60 percent threshold are two propositions in St. John. The first levy, in the amount of $70,000, now stands three votes shy of 60 percent with 134 voting yes (58.77 percent) and 94 voting no (41.23 percent). The other levy, in the amount of $80,000, is one vote shy of the threshold with 136 yes (59.39 percent) and 93 no (40.61 percent).

Garfield’s $10,000 street levy is still not passing. The vote now stands at 120 yes (53 percent) and 107 no (47 percent). The proposal has dipped since election night counting when it stood at 55 percent yes and 45 percent no.

The final levy still below the threshold is fire protection district #4’s levy for emergency medical services. Though improving since election night, the levy now stands at 102 yes votes (55 percent) and 82 no votes (45 percent).

As of Tuesday afternoon, 12,790 ballots had been tabulated, for a 59 percent voter turnout. An estimated 5,000 ballots remained to be tabulated.

One growing task will be processing an estimated 1,500 ballots which have to be duplicated to be put through the counting machine. Those are ballots which have double marks for one or more races. Election staffers have to examine the ballots to determine the voter’s intent on each ballot. If the ballot has two candidates in the same contest clearly marked, the race is left unmarked on the duplicate ballot which is sent through the county machine. The duplication process for each ballot is logged.

Certification date for the election will be Nov. 29, three weeks after the General Election date. Final chapter in the vote count will be a review by the county’s canvass board. Normally, the majority of ballots rejected by the board are ballots which arrive with postmarks later than the Nov. 8 deadline.