Renton Schools Bond Failure: Did Snow Hurt Voter Turnout?

RENTON, WA - Starting on the Friday before the February special election, a series of snowstorms slammed Renton, dropping more than 13 inches of snow in total, according to the National Weather Service. Sidewalks were blocked, streets too treacherous to drive, and homes just too cozy to leave.

Did all that winter weather hurt voter turnout, thus dooming the $250 million Renton schools construction bond measure?

Yes, but mostly no. According to King County Elections, turnout in the February election was lower than expected, 32 percent countywide compared to the projected 34 percent. The county saw about 3 percent of ballots returned too late to count, a full 2-1/2 percentage points higher than in other elections.

That figure was even worse in Renton: 4.78 percent of ballots were too late to count.

But even if that share of Renton ballots counted, it would not change the results of the election. The bond measure needed both a 60 percent majority (which it had) and at least 40 percent participation based on the turnout of the last election, which equals 18,578 voters.

Only 17,098 cast a vote, either yes or no, for the measure. The total voter turnout for Renton was 18,178, 400 votes short of the threshold.

King County did warn voters to return ballots before the worst of the snow started falling on Feb. 8. But even with the snow, voters made a valiant effort to return ballots on Election Day.

"Given the circumstances, I think people did their best. In fact, we saw nearly 20,000 people get to ballot drop boxes on Election Day," King County Elections spokesman Kendall Hodson said.

The Secretary of State can grant counties permission to count late ballots under extreme circumstances, and King County Elections Director Julie Wise has asked for that.

"But again, even if approved, it wouldn’t change the Renton outcome," Watson said.

That means it was simple math, not snow, that doomed the Renton schools bond measure.