The Garden City Telegram
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Area enjoys large voter turnout
Published 11/5/2008 in News : Politics
By STEPHANIE FARLEY
and MONICA SPRINGER
Staff writers
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Venus Irwin fills out her ballot as her grandchildren, Christopher Fry, 6, left and Mercedes Conley, 4, peek from behind the curtain during late voting on Tuesday night at the Finney County Clerk's office. Also accompanying her grandmother behind the curtain is Daja Conley, 7.
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Laurie Sisk/Telegram — Election volunteer Pat Garcia brings votes in for counting from the Huffman Precinct on Tuesday night at the Finney County Administrative Center.
The 2008 presidential election and the USD 457 school bond issue asking for approval to construct a new high school, among other things, were a couple of items on the ballot that brought voters out in high numbers Tuesday in Finney County, according to County Clerk Elsa Ulrich.
The turnout was high enough -- 67.8 percent, with 10,231 ballots cast out of 15,084 registered voters -- causing the number of provisional ballots to be high enough to leave the slight possibility of overturning the vote in the school bond issue to build one larger high school. But, Ulrich said, it's not likely.
Voters approved the bond issue 51.25 to 48.75 percent, or 4,577 to 4,354 votes -- a difference of 223 votes. According to Ulrich, the county has 259 provisional ballots from those voting in the county clerk's office and then 87 provisionals from the polls on Tuesday. Ten of the 87 provisionals are from Holcomb residents, who weren't eligible to vote on the USD 457 bond issue, Ulrich said.
It's also unclear how many of the other total 336 provisionals were eligible to weigh in on the USD 457 question. With provisionals from voters from Kalvesta, Friend and Huffman, some would have been eligible, others wouldn't -- all three areas have portions of other school districts in them.
All county election results are unofficial until Finney County Commissioners canvass on Monday.
Ulrich, who started working for the county in 1976, said she's been there too long to remember all of the presidential elections she's been through with the clerk's office, but that the 67.8 percent is one of the highest turnouts she can remember. Regardless, she said, "that's a good turnout."
She said counting took a little longer Tuesday night because of the number of advanced ballots the clerk's office had to process. As of Tuesday morning, not counting any advanced ballots the clerk's office received that day, there were 1,363 advanced voters who'd voted in the office and 628 ballots mailed out -- the total then was 1,858 ballots returned by voters in the office and those being returned after mailing out.
There also were rumors Tuesday of voter registration forms not being turned into the clerk's office prior to the election by certain agencies and individuals. While that may have been the case, leaving some voters ineligible to vote, Ulrich said, it's the agency's or individual's responsibility to turn those forms in and make sure they're registered.
All 12 counties The Telegram covers had more than 60-percent voter turnout. The reason, county clerks said, is a combination of the presidential election, the contested races and write-in campaigns, and the special questions that were on some county ballots.
The highest percentage of voters was in Greeley County, where 750 people, or 82 percent of the county's registered voters, went to the polls. Greeley County had a write-in for county clerk and also had a question for whether to allow liquor sales by the drink.
Hamilton County had the second largest voter turnout, with 1,118 of the county's 1,445 registered voters, or 77.37 percent, going to the polls. Hamilton County's write-in candidate for sheriff, current Sheriff Richard Garza, is a few votes shy of winning the race. The remaining 17 provisional ballots will be canvassed Monday.
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