The latest count of ballots by the state’s Division of Elections shows the new Petersburg borough passing by nearly the same margin as the first count earlier this month.
The division Friday released results of counting an additional 336 ballots received in the mail since the initial tally on December 18th.
The latest tally has 782 yes votes for the borough. That compares to 600 no votes. That‘s over 56 percent supporting the borough to almost 44 percent opposed, or a margin of 182 votes. The Division’s first count on December 18th showed borough formation winning with a 108 vote lead.
Voter turnout was over 53 percent overall.
The newly-incorporated borough government would have a broader tax-base and planning authority over an area of land and sea that’s about 83 times the size of the current city boundaries. The city of Petersburg will become the Petersburg borough once the results are finalized. The ballot count remains unofficial until the 15th day after the election, to allow for ballots mailed from overseas to reach election officials. The target date for the state to certify the election results is January 3rd.
(This story has been changed to reflect that voter turnout was over 53 percent, not 58 as originally reported)
