Less than one-fourth of Proposition 1 ballots returned so far

Prop 1 ballot 001By Doug Petrowski

Just under one-fourth of the Proposition 1 ballots mailed to Mountlake Terrace voters have been returned as of Thursday, April 18, according to statistics released by the Snohomish County Elections Division. The county office has received 2,666 of the 11,513 ballots mailed out earlier this month.

The total returned ballot count is approximately two-thirds of the number of votes cast on Proposition 1 the last time it appeared before voters in August 2012.

Proposition 1 asks voters if they approve of a $25 million municipal bond offering to fund construction of a new Mountlake Terrace civic campus that would include new city hall offices, an expanded and remodeled police station, an updated library building and various campus amenities. The 30-year bonds would be paid off with an approximate $3.77 monthly increase in property taxes on the average Mountlake Terrace home in 2014, followed by an approximate $13.66 monthly increase beginning in 2015. For the measure to be approved it must receive a 60 percent or more “Yes” vote.

Proponents on both sides of the issue say they will be busy looking for support and encouraging voters to cast their ballots the days leading up to the Tuesday, Apr. 23 deadline for ballot return.

Ballots can be returned by mail, or by dropping them in a county election drop box by 8 p.m. Tuesday. The closest box to Mountlake Terrace is the one located outside Lynnwood City Hall, 19100-44th Ave. W. For visual impaired or disabled voters, the county will have Accessible Voting Units available at the Lynnwood Library on Monday, 10 a.m. — 8 p.m., and on Tuesday, 7 a.m. — 8 p.m.

Mountlake Terrace Proposition 1 voting history
Nov. 2010 —     YES    3,083    (47%)
          NO    3,477    (53%)
Aug. 2012 —    YES    2,227    (56.83%)
      NO    1,692    (43.17%)
(60% YES necessary for approval)

  1. If only President Obama were on the ballot. There’d be more interest and he’d increase the likely proponent turnout.

    Sadly for bond measure proponents, he’s not. Turnout might not be enough to pass the bond measure, and if turnout is high enough, the result might very well be closer to the 2010 results than the 2012 results.

    We’ll see.

  2. Proposition 1 isn’t a partisan issue Bob. President Obama wasn’t on the August 2012 ballot, so your insinuation that’s why the proposition enjoyed support of well over half of voters is misleading. Those that are voting YES have a wide variety of political views, but what we all share is a belief in our community. We want to make an investment in Mountlake Terrace’s future and we want to get the best value for our tax dollars while doing so. I’ve mailed my YES ballot and encourage others to do the same as soon as possible.

  3. I think what Bob is saying is that because this ballot contains only one item, people might be less motivated to fill it out and send it in.

  4. For anyone still interested in why we are having this ballot measure at the juncture in the year when voters have historically turned out at lower numbers, refer to the council meeting on Saturday, September 8th, 2012. You can listen to the audio by going to the city’s website.

    What you will hear is one more proof of how council has been doing what Jack Allen called pulling “every lever of power.” Add in their blatant misrepresentations in spreadsheets and graphs along with reliance for funding on non-citizen big money contributors and the story is pretty clear.

    The city anticipated people being less motivated; that’s why they chose August and now April. What they care about is getting the “support of well over half the voters” who actually vote, while trying to actively influence who those voters are. Having the vote during either a primary or a general election would result in far more voters turning out and less control. It is far more work to “manipulate” (their word, not mine) 6,000 to 9,000 people than it is 3,000-4,000.

  5. It’s a shame that today’s newsletter didn’t address that today is ballot day. No matter what way you are voting, I think it’s important that the local news profile that today is the day.

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