As thousands of votes were added to the tally for Juneau’s municipal election, the outcome for two hotly contested propositions began to lean in opposite directions early Friday evening.
[Early results show tight races for 2 of 4 ballot props]
The City and Borough of Juneau released its second round of preliminary unofficial results, which showed the vote to OK $35 million for a new City Hall leaning narrowly toward disapproval, while the vote on whether to repeal a requirement that real estate sales prices be reported to the city trended toward passage along a thin margin.
As for Friday’s results, 8,663 ballots were represented, which equals a voter turnout of just over 31%. In comparison, last year’s final election results pulled in a voter turnout of just under 31%.
Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire This chart shows vote tallies for the four propositions before Juneau voters in the recent municipal election.
Going down the line, the vote for Proposition 1, which asked voters whether the city should issue $35 million in bond debt to build a new City Hall, swayed toward defeat. As of Friday evening, 4,190 yes votes had been counted compared to 4,379 no votes, according to the second round of preliminary results, meaning a 189 vote margin leaning toward failure.
[Votes on new City Hall, real estate disclosure both extremely close]
Proposition 2, which asked voters whether the city should issue $6.6 million in bond debt to make improvements to the track and field at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park, build a new public use cabin and maintain local trails was trending toward approval by a roughly 2-1 margin thanks to 5,791 votes for the prop and 2,811 votes against.
Proposition 3, which asked whether the city should extend a temporary 1% sales tax, is similarly on track to receive the OK from voters with similar support via 5,953 votes in favor and 2,659 votes against.
Proposition 4, which asked voters whether the city should repeal an ordinance requiring the disclosure of the sales price of real property, also appears heading toward approval. Tuesday night’s results showed 4,444 votes for repeal and 4,113 against, meaning 331 votes edged the prop toward approval.
Meanwhile, with no competition on the ballot or certified write-in campaigns, incumbents seeking reelection to the Juneau School District Board of Education and City and Borough of Juneau are cruising toward victory, according to unofficial results.
On the Assembly side, uncontested candidates include Assembly members Carole Triem, Greg Smith and Wade Bryson. On the school board side, that means new terms for Emil Mackey and Deedie Sorensen.
According to City Clerk Beth McEwen, this round of unofficial results includes “as many ballots as possible” that she and election officials were able to approve and be counted for on or before Friday.
That includes all the eligible votes that were cast on Tuesday’s Election Day via the Voter centers, ballot drop boxes and any mail-in ballots received on or before Friday. She said to keep in mind that cure letters are still being sent and received, and the results are yet to be finalized and are subject to change.
Another set of preliminary results will be posted on Friday, Oct. 14, and final results are expected to be certified on Oct. 19 by the Canvass Review Board.
McEwen said if voters do receive a cure letter they still have time to respond and she encourages residents to address them as soon as possible to make sure their ballot can be counted.
Once the election is certified, which is expected to be Oct. 19, there is the opportunity for defeated candidates or a group of 10 qualified voters to file for a recount application, as outlined in CBJ’s code of ordinances.
A recount application must be filed within two days of the official review to be allowed. If OK’d, a recount would be held within five days after the acceptance of an application, according to city ordinance.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807. Follow her on Twitter at @clariselarson.
