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Washington City Council approves canvass of Nov. 4 municipal election; turnout 31.3%
Summary
The Washington City Council unanimously approved the canvas of the Nov. 4, 2025 municipal election 5–0 after the city recorder reported final county results showing 31.3% turnout and vote totals for mayor and council candidates. Councilors briefly discussed ballot delivery and drop-box use but took no policy action.
Washington City’s City Council unanimously approved the canvass of the Nov. 4, 2025 municipal general election at a special meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 18, after City Recorder Tara Pence presented the final county statistics.
"We had a 31.3 turnout," Recorder Tara Pence said, reporting that Washington City had 19,936 active registered voters and that 6,240 ballots were counted. Pence gave the vote totals the council used to certify results: the mayor received 5,619 votes; Council member Casperson received 4,280 votes; Council member Brett Henderson received 4,109 votes; and candidate Ed Tracy received 2,447 votes.
Pence told the council there were 13 early voters and 65 residents who voted in person on election day, and that the county reports show seven out-of-state or military ballots were returned and counted. She said the county separates ballots by drop box and postal pick-up in its system but the county did not provide the city with a separate breakdown by return method.
Council members asked about a procedural change requiring ballots to be in the possession of the county by election day. "The big change this time around is your ballot needs to be in possession of the county by election day," the mayor observed during discussion; Recorder Pence added that county handling and post office procedures were improved this cycle, helping to avoid out-of-jurisdiction transfers reported in prior elections.
Members also discussed voting methods. Several councilors said they favor retaining mail-ballot options, arguing they make voting more convenient and that reverting to all in-person voting would likely reduce turnout. Pence estimated drop boxes were used about twice as often as mailed returns in this election, saying drop boxes were consistently full at pickup.
After the presentation and brief discussion, Councilman Coates moved and Councilman Belliston seconded approval of the canvass. The council approved the canvass by voice vote, 5–0. A subsequent motion to adjourn carried on a voice vote and the meeting ended.
