Ballot count is official Sept. 2

GRANT COUNTY — With only 25 ballots left to count, Grant County primary elections appear to be finished.

The election results will be made official Sept. 2.

Although the office reports on their Web site they were going to count the ballots Friday, they will not. When there are so few ballots left to count, the Grant County Auditor’s Office waits until the certification date to release the results.

The few ballots left to count include ballots received on the deadline and a few ballots in need of review.

Voter turnout was 35.39 percent.

There are three races in Grant County to be narrowed in the primary election. The top-two voter recipients continue campaigning until to the general election in November. The races are for Moses Lake City Council position 5, Soap Lake School District Director 2 and Coulee City Mayor.

The results from the election determined Grant County Prosecutor Angus Lee and Deputy Prosecutor Albert H. Lin continue to vie for Grant County Prosecutor. The winner will serve one year before facing a re-election in 2010 for a four year term.

The top-two candidates for Moses Lake City Council are David Curnel with 44.83 percent and Tom Hayes with 28.14 percent. They move on to the general election for Moses Lake City Councilmember 5. Incumbent Jim Liebrecht received 27.03 percent of the votes.

The primary results for the Soap Lake School District director is very close. The Grant County Auditor’s Office listed Wanda Fencl leading with 34.88 percent of the vote, trailed by John Marthini with 34.57 percent of the vote and Maynard Hagen with 30.45 percent. Only six votes separate Marthini and Hagen.

Philip Isaak leads the Coulee City mayor race with 35.41 percent of the vote. Behind him is Richard Heiberg with 24.4 percent and Otto Jensen with 23.92 percent of the votes. They are separated by one vote. Rosie Ristine drew 16.27 votes, which is 16 votes behind Jensen.