The results of this year’s August primary election have been finalized, with a voter turnout in Clark County that ranks below every vote for more than a decade.
On Aug. 15, Clark County certified the results of the election. North Clark County had five races in the primary, including three Battle Ground City Council seats, the seat for Woodland mayor and a ballot measure to raise property taxes in Clark County Fire District 3.
For those votes, the outcomes didn’t change from the first count of ballots to certification.
For Fire District 3’s lid lift, about 45.9% of voters turned out in support. Had it passed, the ballot measure would raise the district’s property tax levy from the current $1.21 per $1,000 of assessed value to $1.50 per $1,000 and would have funded greater staffing to improve service, among other aspects.
In the race for Woodland mayor, challenger Todd Dinehart had a majority of votes in a three-way race featuring two-time incumbent Will Finn. As of certification, Dinehart had about 55.9% of the vote to Finn’s 30%. Candidate Janna Lovejoy was eliminated after gaining 13.5% of the vote.
Battle Ground City Council had the most races this August. Only one elected incumbent was in the races, and he won handily.
As of certification, current position 2 councilor Shane Bowman had about 56.2% of the vote. Challenger Josh VanGelder gained roughly 38.1% of votes and will advance. Candidate C.R. Wiley took about 4.8% of votes and is eliminated.
For position 3, a challenger to the currently-seated councilor has a majority of voter support. Victoria Ferrer had about 58.1% of the vote, leading current seatholder Daniel Dingman, who had roughly 37.8%. Dingman was appointed to fill a vacancy in June.
Both candidates will move on, while Craig Wigginton, who had about 3.8% of the vote, will not.
A newcomer is coming to fill current councilor and Mayor Philip Johnson’s position 7 seat. As of certification, Eric Joe Overholser had 52.7% of votes, while candidate Josie Calderon will also advance after gaining about 43.7% of the vote. Candidate Max Booth gained about 2.9% of the vote and will not advance.
This year’s primary had the lowest voter turnout in Clark County in recent history. Odd-year primaries tend to be lower in turnout than other contests in recent years, even those in April and February, which are typically for votes impacting school and fire districts.
In Clark County, voter turnout in the jurisdictions subject to votes was about 19.4% this month. In comparison, votes in April and February for ballot measures had turnouts of about 47.7% and 32.3%, respectively.
The next-lowest voter turnout for August primaries through 2007 was the roughly 19.6% recorded in 2013.
Clark County has been able to reach voter turnout of as much as about 85.1%, as was recorded in the November 2020 general election.
The top two candidates in each of the primary contests will join nearly a dozen other competitive races in North Clark County government. Two seats for La Center City Council, one seat for Ridgefield City Council, three seats for Woodland City Council, two Battle Ground Public Schools Board of Directors seats, one seat each for the La Center, Ridgefield and Woodland school district boards of directors, and a seat on the Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue Board of Directors have competitive races.
Several other governments and district seats in the county have a single candidate running unopposed. In two instances, no one has filed to run for seats up for election — Green Mountain School District Position 1 and Yacolt Town Council Position 5.
Without candidates, both of those elections are considered “lapsed,” according to state law. This means the incumbent in those positions — Rick Syring for Green Mountain School and Marina Viray for Yacolt Town Council — will keep their seats until the next election that the seats would ordinarily be up for vote.
Ballots for the general election will be mailed Oct. 20, according to the Washington Secretary of State’s office. The deadline for voting is 9 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 7.
