Unlike past elections in which some contests were too close to call, the first count of ballots on Tuesday night shows that voters made clear choices in local races affecting Whidbey Island.

The Island County Elections Office counted 15,150 ballots from about 23% of registered voters, while an estimated 1,800 ballots are left to count.

In arguably the most hotly contested race on the island, the incumbent member of the South Whidbey School Board is well ahead of her challenger. Ann Johnson has 3,168 ballots cast in her favor, which is about 65.5% of the vote, while Gwendy Gabelein has 1,667 votes, or about 34.5%.

Andrea Downs ran uncontested for her seat on the South Whidbey School Board. In Oak Harbor, Nicole Tesch and Sharon Jensen ran unopposed for school board seats. Likewise in Cou

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