Spokane County certifies results nearly unchanged from election night

Spokane County formally certified the 2023 election Tuesday, making official results that became evident weeks ago.

Notably, the margins of victory or defeat for local candidates and ballot measures is nearly unchanged from election night. Early results on Nov. 7 showed the countywide Measure 1, for instance, failing 63-37 points on election night. While thousands of additional ballots were counted in the following days, election officials certified a nearly identical 63-37 result on Tuesday.

The same held true in the city of Spokane. On election night, Lisa Brown had 51.5% of the vote for Spokane mayor compared to incumbent Nadine Woodward’s 48%. With all of the ballots now counted, Brown leads with 51.7% of the vote to Woodward’s 47.7%.

Nearly 43% of registered voters submitted their ballots countywide, down from 47.5% in 2019. Turnout within the city was slightly higher at 49.4%.

Turnout fluctuated highly between the city of Spokane’s three City Council districts, following predictable patterns. The least-affluent northeast district had the city’s lowest turnout of 36.8%, while the most-affluent south district had a turnout of 56%. The northwest district had a 51.1% turnout rate.

While most newly elected leaders won’t take their oath of office until Jan. 1, some candidates who won their elections are being sworn into office. Former Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson was officially sworn in as Spokane City Council President just an hour after the election was certified Tuesday . Spokane City Councilman-elect Paul Dillon will be sworn in Wednesday .

Because Wilkerson and Dillon are replacing people appointed to their positions – former Council President Lori Kinnear and Councilman Ryan Oelrich – they assume their duties immediately. Spokane City Councilwoman-elect Kitty Klitzke will replace Councilwoman Karen Stratton at the start of 2024.