Kirkland annex 'yes' could be slipping away

On Election Day, residents of neighborhoods Finn Hill, Juanita and Kingsgate appeared to be voting to join the city of Kirkland by a 2 percent margin.

But the "yes" tally has been slipping in the daily vote counts since, and Friday, the "yes" vote dropped to 59.97 percent, just below the 60 percent needed for annexation to pass.

If it passes, annexation will increase the population of Kirkland from its current 49,000 to nearly 83,000.

Dozens of votes have not been counted yet, including ballots that don't have confirmed signatures, according to King County Elections.

Voters have until Nov. 23 to resolve signature problems.

If the "yes" vote stays under 60 percent but still reaches a majority, the Kirkland City Council can vote to approve the annexation, said Assistant City Manager Marilynne Beard.

That council vote would not include the bond measure, intended to spread the city's current debt on parks and fire services among the annexation residents and save the current residents of Kirkland about $13 per year per single-family home, Beard said.

Mayor Jim Lauinger said the earliest discussion of the annexation would be at the Dec. 1 council meeting after the election is certified Nov. 24, but he is not sure when the council would vote.

No matter how close the final tally, there are no automatic recounts for ballot measures, said King County Elections spokeswoman Megan Coppersmith.

A recount can be requested within three days of certification by a group of at least five registered voters, she said.

The recount requires a deposit that costs 15 cents per ballot for machine or 25 cents per ballot for a manual recount. The machine recount deposit for the annexation measure would cost roughly $1,600.

Johanna Palmer, chair of pro-annexation group Citizens for One Kirkland, said her group does not have the money to fund a recount.

"We're watching it very carefully," she said.

Toby Nixon, who is on the group's board, said he had a list of voters whose ballots were returned because of problems with their signatures. He and some volunteers are planning to call people this weekend to encourage them to verify their signatures with the county and have their ballot counted.

The current City Council voted 5-2 in favor of putting the annexation on the ballot.

But one incumbent was ousted in the general election and two additional new council members won seats.

The new council members will be seated in January.

Lauinger, who did not run for re-election, said he was not sure if the current council or the new one would vote on annexation.

"Annexation is still at the very, very front of our minds, so are the budgets," he said. "We have a change in council direction with new members coming. There's a lot of balls up in the air."

Nicole Tsong: 206-464-2150 or ntsong@seattletimes.com