Vote totals updated for Feb. 9 special election

Ephrata School District voters so far approved an educational programs and operations levy, but voters in the Wahluke School District are rejecting a capital levy request in updated vote totals from the Feb. 9 special election.

Grant County Fire District 10 voters are approving a request to expand the number of commissioners from three to five.

Ephrata’s four-year EP&O levy proposal received 1,823 “yes” votes, 66.32%, and 926 “no” votes, 33.68%, as of Wednesday. Because it’s an EP&O levy, the proposal required a bare majority, 50% plus one vote, to pass.

Ephrata district property owners will pay $1.85 per $1,000 of assessed property value for 2022, and the assessment is set to rise to $2.03 per $1,000 of assessed value by 2025.

The capital levy proposal in Wahluke received 308 “no” votes, 59.23%, and 212 “yes” votes, 40.77%. The three-year proposal would have raised $1.5 million per year.

The GCFD 10 proposal received 326 “yes” votes, 70.87%, and 134 “no” votes, 29.13%. The change follows the merger of Grant County Fire District 10 and Grant County Fire District 11 in 2020. The merger left six people on the combined commission, and under state law the board must have an uneven number.

Ballots will be counted again Tuesday and the results will be certified Feb. 19.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at [email protected].