King County Elections has released the early results for the April 22 special election, which includes the Proposition No. 1 Mercer Island School District $165 million bond measure.

At press time, the bond had received 56.64% approval and 43.36% rejection.

To pass, the bond needs a 60% yes vote and a minimum turnout of 40% of voters casting ballots in the last general election.

According to King County Elections, MI has already met the 40% validation requirement (60% at press time) with 9,478 ballots counted of the 15,843 MI voters who turned out in the 2024 general election.

The bond, with a millage rate of $1.89 per $1,000 of assessed property value, aims to address key infrastructure projects across the district, including completing the 2014 project and building a new multi-use performance space for Islander Middle School.

Two sides squared off in the lead-up to the election: Citizens for Mercer Island Public Schools (CMIPS), a political arm of bond advocators, notes that property taxes on $2.2 million homes will increase by less than 7%, while the opposition, Mercer Islanders for Sustainable Spending (MISS), states on its website that those local school taxes will rise by 40%.

Final results will be certified on May 2.