Education initiative takes the lead, Mauer expands lead for judge in newest ballot counts

Ballots are still being counted across Washington State, but the yes votes for Initiative 1351 took the lead for the first time Thursday evening. The education initiative that would require smaller class sizes and more teachers was trailing statewide by about 12,000 votes on election night and has advanced since then. Election results posted on the Washington Secretary of State’s web site Thursday evening showed the measure ahead by 4,660 votes. In Spokane County, the trend has mirrored the state trend. It was barely failing after Tuesday’s count and is now barely passing. With more ballots waiting to be counted in election offices across the state, the fate of the initiative could still go either way. Initiative 1351 would set maximum class sizes in kindergarten through third grade at 17 students in most classrooms and 15 children in schools in low-income areas. Classes in the fourth through 12th grades would have fewer than 25 students per class, or 22 in low-income schools. Meanwhile, Aimee Maurer lengthened her lead over incumbent District Court Judge Randy Brandt in the newest voting numbers released Thursday evening by the Spokane County Elections Office. Maurer now holds 51 percent of the vote compared to Brandt’s 48 percent. There are an additional 26,000 Spokane County ballots left to count and another vote tally is set to be released Friday evening. The Airway Heights Fire Department’s emergency medical services levy slipped a bit in Thursday’s results, dropping from 59.9 percent approval to 57.97 percent. The levy requires a 60 percent supermajority to pass. There are still 260 ballots from Airway Heights voters to count and the levy would need to get a yes vote from 66 percent of those ballots in order to pass. An EMS levy in Spokane County Fire District 12 was still failing with 52 percent approval.