Depending on one's perspective, Graham Fire and Rescue's levy is close to passing or close to failing on its second try. The four-year, $11 million maintenance and operations measure received a 59.6 percent yes vote in the general election that ended Tuesday. If the trend in initial returns holds up, the levy would narrowly fall short of the 60 percent approval required to pass. But if enough of the ballots still to be counted wind up in the yes column, the measure would pass. As of Tuesday, about 35 percent (11,764) of the 32,789 registered voters in the district had returned their ballots, the Pierce County elections department reported.. The department plans to release updated results of the election at the end of each business day through Nov. 24, with final official results due on Nov. 25. The department will be closed Nov. 11 for Veterans Day and won't have new numbers. The levy failed in the primary election in August with a 58 percent approval. The fire district's commissioners submitted it to voters again for the general election. The district requested the levy to fund additional personnel and halt a trend of service cutbacks. The latter recently grew to include full or partial closure of three fire stations and reduced responses to non-life-threatening emergencies. The levy would be collected at a rate of 60 cents per $1,000 of assessed property valuation, bringing in approximately $2.7 million per year from 2015 through 2018. The Pierce County elections department plans to release updated results at the end of each business day through Nov. 24, with final official results due on Nov. 25. The department will be closed Nov. 11 for Veterans Day and won't have new numbers. The department predicted approximately 51 percent turnout of the 441,791 registered voters in Pierce County.
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