The close Al Carter-Herb Welch race for Carter’s County Commissioner spot  has Welch in the lead by 55 votes. The latest, from the County Auditor:

“On Wednesday we will count ballots on hand and release an updated total.  When we have 25 or more ballots we can update; at this time we have about 39 ballots ready to be added to our total.  The 39 represent late arriving, properly post-marked ballots and ballots whose signatures have been corrected. When we meet to start our certification process on Monday, November 22, the Canvassing Board will consider ballots submitted to them for resolution.  A few ballots  may then be added to our totals.” – Vern Spatz, Auditor Grays Harbor County

After another count yesterday afternoon, the County Elections Department says Herb Welch has a 55 vote lead over Al Carter in the Commissioner No. 3 race.

Says the Daily World:

With approximately 4,000 ballots to count before the election is finalized, challenger Herb Welch (R) is still  leading County Commissioner Al Carter (D). Welch, who had a 171 vote lead at Tuesday’s first count, now has a 174 vote lead. The next count is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 10. County elections site.

After this afternoon’s count, released by the County, “Approve” votes have a slim lead over “Reject” in the Ocean Shores Library lid lift/levy measure.

• Approve 1,047 (50.17%)

• Reject 1,040 (49.83%)

According to Julie Murphy of the Elections Department,there are still 427 questionable ballots to be resolved;

Check back, second tally to be released at 5 p.m. today, with County results including the supertight Library lid lift/levy vote.

With just 4 more “Reject” votes than “Approve” after the first count, what if the Ocean Shores Library lid lift/levy ends in a tie?
Asked that question, county auditor Vern Spatz responded by quoting state law for lid lift votes: “A simple majority is required for approval.”
Meaning there must be at least 1 more “Approve” vote than “Reject” vote. If it’s a dead heat, the lid lift/levy does not pass. Hundreds of votes are still to be counted, with the next announcement coming at 5 p.m. Friday.
Some facts:

• Ocean Shores ballots mailed out: 3,248
• Ocean Shores ballots counted on Monday: 1,416
• Potential number of O.S. ballots to be counted: 1,832
• Ballots turned in to Convention Center: 300-plus

The vote, thus far:
Approve 756 (49.87%)
Reject 760 (50.13%)

Results on today’s vote, which includes the Ocean Shores Library lid lift/levy, and primaries for County Commissioner No. 3 (top two vote getters move on to the November election) and various other positions, is to be posted here after 8 p.m. today. Ballots must be postmarked today to be counted, or dropped at collection centers, including the Ocean Shores Convention Center.

According to the county elections site, the three North Beach School District levy proposals all were passing, in the 53-56% range.

According to the county, 3,307 ballots were mailed to Ocean Shores registered voters. Of those, 313 came back to the county, as “undeliverable.”

To date, the county has received 2,211 completed ballots, from Ocean Shores. The represents 67 percent of the total registered voters; when you subtract the undeliverable, 74 percent of Ocean Shores citizens who received their ballots voted. Lid lift/EMS levy: “reject,” 1,503 (68.95%); “approve,” 677  (31.06%) “approve”; 2,180 total.

City Council: Position 5, Jackie Farra, 1,145 (57.97%), Nick Johnson 830 (42.03%) votes; 1,975 total votes. Position 1, John Lynn (unopposed): 1,424 votes. Position 7, Garland French (unopposed): 1,409 votes.

On the county’s most recent count, Jackie Farra, with nearly 58 percent of the votes, holds a 315 vote lead over incumbent Nick Johnson in the only City Council “race” (Garland French and John Lynn were uncontested). The rejection of the “Lid lift” levy for EMS shrunk slightly, but “rejected” is still at more than two-thirds. Nearly 70 percent of Ocean Shores’ 3,300 registered voters returned their ballots. The county will do another ballot count next Friday.