GRAFTON -- A high percentage of Taylor County voters came out to cast their votes in the general election, but things went smoothly, county officials said Tuesday night.
"Tonight has been an extremely successful night. We had a high voter turnout, but the workers did a beautiful job," said Nancy Virginia Fowler, county clerk.
Voters who live in Grafton passed a street levy, with a count of 1,128 for and 712 against.
"Every precinct voted for the street levy but one. It's nice to see the citizens support the city's efforts to pave the streets," said Kevin Stead, Grafton city manager.
All the incumbents were reelected in the county races, with a number of the races uncontested.
"The races that were contested, we had good candidates on each side. When the voter turnout is large, the incumbents do tend to have the advantage," said Robert C. "Bob" Weaver, who kept his seat on the county commission.
John L. Bord, Grafton, won in the uncontested race for prosecuting attorney, while incumbent Clark D. Sinclair retained the office of sheriff.
In the assessor's race, Democrat incumbent Judith Collett won over Republican Jim Morgan, by a vote of 3,343 to 2,087.
In the two seats open for magistrate, Democrats Leonard Lucas and Rick Reese won with 3,783 and 3,961 votes respectively, while Republican Deborah McKinney earned 1,550 votes.
In the surveyor's race, Republican Neil Quinn won over Democrat Ken Litzinger, 2,816 to 2,238.
In the state Constitutional Amendment No. 1, the "Unified Family Court Amendment," county residents passed the measure, with 2,483 for and 1,232 against.
On the national ticket, Taylor County residents voted for Republican George Bush over Democrat Al Gore, with a vote of 3,096 to 2,453. Other presidential contenders include Libertarian Harry Browne, 13 votes; Natural Law Party John Hagelin, 1 vote; Reform Party Pat Buchanan, 19 votes, and Green Party Ralph Nader, 82 votes.
In the state governor's race, Democrat Bob Wise bested Republican Gov. Cecil Underwood by a vote of 2,916 to 2,668.
