Yes outnumbers no by just 23 votes in incorporation election

"Prior to Tuesday’s incorporation election, cityhood booster Richard Sheak predicted absentee voters would be the key. He was right.Absentee voters, based on ballots counted on election night, were much more likely to approve of cityhood than those who voted in person. At polling places, 592 people (50.64 percent) voted no, while 577 people (49.36 percent) voted yes; 1,073 absentee voters (51.71 percent) cast yes ballots, while 1,002 voters (48.29 percent) voted against incorporation.But updated totals released Friday morning showed the election margin narrowing. That margin was just 23 votes on Friday, down from the 56-vote margin of election night.As of Friday, 50.31 percent of Silverdale voters had supported incorporation, while 49.69 percent voted against cityhood. Prior to the release of updated numbers yesterday, 1,650 Silverdale voters had approved cityhood, while 1,594 had voted against.Despite the narrowing numbers, county Auditor Karen Flynn expects that the pro-incorporation vote will stand. “By my calculation, the yes votes would only need to attain a 46 percent vote and the no vote would have to be 54 percent to change the outcome,” Flynn said Thursday, before the updated numbers. “It appears unlikely, especially when you look at the trends.”Sheak, who led the pro-cityhood group Citizens for Silverdale and has declared his interest in a seat on the new city’s seven-person council, was encouraged by Flynn’s prediction.He attributed the incorporation movement’s success with absentee voters to a doorbelling campaign that took place three weekends before the election.“I was hoping for a lot more than 1,600 (votes),” Sheak said Thurdsay. “At least (doorbelling) had a big impact, so that everyone didn’t think that their Saturday and Sunday were wasted.”The auditor also said that turnout in this election was higher than election officials expected. Although no congressional, legislative or countywide candidates were on this year’s ballot, Flynn estimates that 60 percent of registered voters have returned ballots.There are two causes for that, she said: one is the preponderance of absentee ballots, which make voting easier; the other is Initiative 695, the tax-revolt bill that drew many voters to the polls or the mailbox.“I’m very pleased we had a great turnout in this election. That’s what it’s all about, getting people to the polls,” Flynn said.Subsequent totals reflecting votes from late absentee voters will be released on Nov. 10 and Nov. 16. The election is to be certified on Nov. 17."

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