Election results look like Lacey Fire District 3’s Proposition 1 is winning, but it’s not.

Proposition 1 was failing in early returns Tuesday night.

The reason? Voter turnout for Proposition 1 was too low, Thurston County Auditor Mary Hall said Tuesday night. And because it’s a bond issue, it needs a super-majority of votes to pass.

As of Tuesday, those in favor of Proposition 1 were leading with 74.7 percent of the vote, but only about 11,000 votes had been counted.

Proposition 1 needs 17,087 total votes and still has to maintain a super majority of 60 percent or better, Hall said. Of those 17,087 total votes, 10,253 have to be “yes” votes, she said. As of Tuesday night, around 8,400 had voted in favor of it.

Everything depends on voter turnout hitting that 17,087 number. “It’s certainly low as it stands right now, however our office was very busy today so it’s going to be interesting to see how many ballots we picked up at the drop boxes tonight,” Hall said Tuesday night.

“We're going to push really hard to get through what we have tomorrow. We're going to release results at the latest at 6 p.m.”

Proposition 1 in Lacey asks voters in sprawling Thurston County Fire District 3 to approve a 20-year bond issue for fire station upgrades, new equipment and three fire trucks. The measure would raise nearly $20 million and be paid off with a slightly higher property tax levy.

District 3 also serves the city’s urban growth area.

The bonds would replace existing bonds scheduled to expire in late 2020. The net tax increase through 2020 is about 4 cents per $1,000 of assessed valuation, which translates to $10.40 a year on a $260,000 home and lot. The tax rate would decrease after 2020.

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 9:23 PM with the headline "Election results look like Lacey Fire District 3’s Proposition 1 is winning, but it’s not.."