Kitsap County voters decisively rejected Kitsap Public Utility District Proposition 1 in Tuesday's general election, rebuffing a historic bid to authorize public electric utility service across the peninsula.
County canvassing boards will continue auditing signature verifications and scanning remaining ballots through late November.
Despite those educational efforts, voters viewed the measure as an open-ended authorization for risky capital expenditures.
Operational Insulation for Peninsula Water and Fiber Broadband Operations The decisive rejection of Proposition 1 brings immediate operational certainty to the utility district's existing core infrastructure divisions.
Kitsap County presents a far more complex electrical distribution environment than its rural northern neighbor.
Preliminary election returns show 60.5 percent of Kitsap County voters rejected KPUD Proposition 1, preserving Puget Sound Energy as the retail electrical provider across the peninsula.