Renton library annexation still ahead by a hair; about 400 ballots left

The gap between votes for the Renton library annexation held at 46 votes Tuesday after a three-day weekend.

About 31 percent of the city's 40,927 mail-in ballots have been counted, in a vote to decide whether the City of Renton will annex its library to the King County Library System.

The county has about 400 ballots that have yet to be counted, although more could still arrive in the mail.

A group of five registered voters can request a recount through the City Clerk's Office within three days after the Feb. 24 vote certification, said elections spokesperson Kim van Ekstrom.

This is further clarification from what the division has told the Renton Reporter in the past week.

The vote was 6,363 for the annexation and 6,317 against as of Tuesday afternoon.

Five ballots were slid under the division's former Renton office, instead of being properly mailed or put into a ballot box.

Knowing that there might still be confusion, the office drove to each of the locations there were former lock boxes to see if there were ballots dropped off.

"Despite your best messaging, you know that people potentially didn't know," van Ekstrom said. "Most voters did it right."

All the ballots collected before 8 p.m. Tuesday were accepted, including the five from Renton.

Contact Renton Reporter Staff Writer Celeste Gracey at cgracey@rentonreporter.com or 425-255-3484, ext. 5052.

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