Evan Smith: What's the source of late ballots?

By Evan Smith ShorelineAreaNews Politics Writer

After I reported the changes in Shoreline City Council candidate Shari Tracey's lead over incumbent Councilwoman Cindy Ryu, I got a question about where the late ballots are coming from.

I said Tuesday that the few ballots arriving two weeks after Election Day probably were "foreign" votes. I should have said "overseas."

These are votes from local citizens, registered to vote here, who are serving in the military overseas, studying abroad, or out of the country on business or on vacation.

I assume that all ballots mailed in Shoreline, Lake Forest Park and Seattle are already counted. Thus, the number of new votes counted gets smaller each day. In the Ryu-Tracey contest, it was 52 Tuesday.

Tracey led by 206 votes Tuesday.
Tracey has 50.5 percent of the vote to 49.2 percent for Ryu.