Though the Aug. 5 primary election results are set to be certified on Aug. 19, only nine estimated ballots remain to be counted, according to the Lewis County Auditor’s Office website, meaning the results will not likely change.
This includes results from the primary race for Lewis County Fire District 5 Commissioner Position 2, where Tom Crowson — who died on July 27 — came in first by a wide margin. Crowson garnered 713 votes, while Rick LeBoeuf came in second with 275 votes and incumbent Fire District 5 Commissioner Sam Patrick finished third with 172 votes.
Per state law, Crowson’s name will still advance to the general election ballot against LeBoeuf in the top-two primary despite his death, according to Lewis County Chief Deputy Auditor Tom Stanton.
The only way to remove Crowson’s name from the ballot now is through a judge’s order. A registered Lewis County voter will have to go before a Lewis County Superior Court judge and request the judge declare Crowson unqualified to hold the office prior to the printing of the ballots for the Tuesday, Nov. 4, general election.
Should a voter make this request, state law dictates the candidate who received the third greatest number of votes in the primary — Patrick — will be declared qualified, and their name will replace the unqualified candidate on November’s ballot.
While Stanton did not know the exact date the general election ballots will be sent to the printer, with absentee ballots set to be sent to U.S. military service members and others overseas by Oct. 19, he estimated the auditor’s office would have draft general election ballots ready for the printer by mid-September.
He added, with the exception of a similar situation in a Chehalis School Board race where a candidate moved out of the district leading to a judge request being made to remove them from the ballot, this is the first time he’s seen a scenario like this in his 17 years working for the county where a candidate died but still advanced to the general election.
If no voter makes the request to declare Crowson unqualified, Patrick, who came in third in the primary, would not be able to run or win, even with a write-in campaign.
Per state law, a candidate who lost in a primary race is ineligible to qualify as a write-in candidate for the position they originally ran for in the primary.
Lewis County Superior Court is on the fourth floor of the Law and Justice Center, located at 345 W. Main St. in Chehalis.
For more information on making the request to remove Crowson’s name from November’s ballot in Lewis County Superior Court, call the court at 360-740-1333 or call the Lewis County Auditor’s Office at 360-740-1156.
Other county primary results
With only nine votes remaining to be counted in the county, the other primary election results are all but finalized, too.
In the race for Centralia City Council District 2 councilor, Leah Sisemore, who placed first with 180 votes, and Ray Chapman-Wilson, second with 151 votes, will advance to November’s general election over Chuck Kifer, who received 121 votes.
Down in the Winlock mayor race, Victoria Marincin, who placed first 206 votes, will advance alongside incumbent Winlock Mayor Brandon Svenson, second with 108 votes, ahead of Winlock City Councilor Jodie Curtis, 85 votes, and America Lunsford, who suspended her campaign prior to the primary due to an “urgent personal matter,” Lunsford’s staff previously told The Chronicle.
Also in Winlock, Taylor Myers, who placed first with 435 votes, and Jarryd Forler, second with 326 votes, will advance to the general election ahead of Stevie Bennett, 151 votes, in the race for the Winlock School District Director District 2 position.
Additionally, the primary ballot initiatives for school levies in both Mossyrock and White Pass, along with the bond for a new fire station for Lewis County Fire District 4 in Morton, are all still passing by clear margins.
Preliminary results from the Aug. 5 primary election can be viewed on the Lewis County Auditor’s Office website at https://tinyurl.com/383zzwcy.
