Top 2 primary is certified

King County Elections this morning certified the results of the Aug. 19, 2008 primary. Final results are posted online at http://your.kingcounty.gov/elections/200808/results.aspx.

This Top 2 primary marked the first election in which two candidates from the same party could advance to the General Election in the same race. There are three races where candidates who prefer the same party will oppose each other in the General:

• State Senator Legislative District 11 candidates Margarita Prentice and Juan Martinez , prefers Democratic party;
• State Representative Legislative District 36 position number 1 candidates Reuven Carlyle and John Burbank, prefers Democratic party; and
• State Representative Legislative District 46, position number 1 candidates Scott White and Gerry Pollet , prefers Democratic party.

"While the turnout was lower than expected, voters seemed very pleased with the new primary method," said Sherril Huff, King County Elections' director. "I'm very pleased to report in an election of this size, staff had one of the best reconciliation rates of any countywide election thus far with just 4 discrepancies among ballots cast at 393 poll sites and for mail ballots. This is a credit to the emphasis we place on our quality standards."

In King County, 363,197 ballots were cast, for a turnout of 34.86 percent of the 1,041,892 registered voters.

King County's post-election, random audit of 4 percent of accessible voting units (or electronic voting equipment) used on Election Day resulted in a perfect match between the electronic vote totals and the paper audit trail. To date, all manual audits of King County's accessible voting units have been 100 percent accurate. In addition, the three precinct random audit selected by the county political parties also reconciled with zero discrepancies.

The electronic canvass of results will be available online at http://www.kingcounty.gov/elections/results.aspx on Friday, Sept.5, 2008.

Preparations for the November 4 General Election are already underway. Please note the important dates below.

• Oct. 4, 2008 Last day to register online, transfer address, and mail registration form
• Oct. 13, 2008 Voters' pamphlets mailed
• Oct. 15-17, 2008 Absentee ballots mailed for Nov. general election
• Oct. 20, 2008 Last day for new voters in Washington State to register in person at King County Elections or at one of King County's Community Service Centers.
• Nov. 4, 2008 Election Day! Mail ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 4. Polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.