Politics & Government

County Certifies Mercer Island School Bond Defeat

King County Elections reported nearly 58 percent local turnout for Mercer Island's school bond vote and a 34 percent turnout overall.

King County Elections certified the April 17 Special Election today, with final election results available on the County’s web site. More than 80,000 voters (34 percent) cast ballots, meeting the projected turnout of 34 percent. The County mailed ballots to nearly 240,000 voters.

The vote on the Mercer Island School District Bond issue when election officials released their election night April 17 tally indicating defeat of the bond by a 21-point margin. Just under 10 percent of the vote trickled in after election night, with late votes split roughtly 50-50.

The school bond vote also drove a relatively high level of turnout, compared with other races. The 58-percent turnout nearly matched last year's general election levels on Mercer Island of 61 percent.

Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Two other school districts asking voters to approve constrution bonds passed their measures. Renton School District voters approved $97 million in bonds 60.5 to 39.4 percent. Voters in Issaquah overwhelming supported a $219 million bond, 70-30.

, a majority of readers said they had trouble trying to discern why the bond was needed, with 26 percent complaining that there was a lack of transparency or specifics in bond, and 24 percent said there was too much unfounded rumor and disinformation about it.

Find out what's happening in Mercer Islandwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The next election will be the August 7 Primary. Register to vote by mail or online at www.kingcounty.gov/elections by July 9 to participate in the August election. The in-person voter registration deadline for the Primary Election is July 30. Registered voters should keep their name and address updated with Elections.

Mercer Island School District No. 400

Ballots Cast Registered Voters Percent 9776
16953 57.67% Proposition No. 1 General Obligation Bonds - $196,275,000 Position Votes Percent APPROVED 3970 40.64% REJECTED 5798 59.36%

April 2012 Special Election: By the numbers

Ballots issued................................... 239,254

Ballots returned.................................. 80,443

Ballots counted................................... 78,773

Discrepancies............................................... 0

Ballots cast on AVUs................................... 6

Ballots returned at drop boxes............ 6,373

Signature challenge ballots................ 1,851

Challenged ballots cured.................... 1,086

Returned too late..................................... 703

Returned as undeliverable................. 1,426

Calls to voter hotline............................ 1,220

Emails to Voter Services......................... 183

β€” Information from King County Elections


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