Bloglander

Only three times since Eisenhower was elected president have so many of us voted in an election.

With the general election's official certification, we now know that an astounding 71.29 percent of registered Spokane County voters returned their ballots this year, a proportion just behind the records of 1970 (72 percent), and 1958 (71.3 percent). (Voters in 1952 came in fourth.)

That's more than 186,000 voters in total. Which, if we all stood on a scale, would weigh around 30 million pounds.

We all know the results by now, but to recap:

• Former Spokane City Councilman Al French unseated Spokane County Commissioner Bonnie Mager, making the board completely Republican.

• Michael Baumgartner took out state Sen. Chris Marr, returning the seat to Republican control after just four years. (It was Republican for the 40 years before that.)

• Democrats kept the 3rd Legislative District. Republicans took back the 6th. (Thank you, gerrymandering!)

• Unopposed Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich got 100 percent of the vote — at least 100 percent of the 130,000 or so people who decided to vote for sheriff.

And etc., etc.

Finally, nice work voters. Scoring 71 percent is just a C- in school, but it's an A in democracy. 

Go to the Spokane County Election Results page for the full, unadulterated breakdown.