(The Center Square) – Pierce County voters appear to be rejecting two charter amendments that would dramatically change the office of the sheriff.
Amendment 53 asked Pierce County voters if they want to switch to an appointed sheriff and remove Sheriff Keith Swank from office.
Tuesday night returns showed more than 154,000 Pierce County voters rejected Amendment 53, with just over 77,000 approving.
The amendment calls for the county executive to select a chief law enforcement officer, with approval from the county council.
Amendment 54 would create a Public Safety Ombuds, a new executive department with the power to subpoena information and witnesses to investigate or respond to complaints against the Sheriff’s Office.
That measure was also being rejected in initial returns, but by a much smaller margin, with 120,704 votes rejecting it, and just under 110,000 supporting Amendment 54.
“I’m not quite as confident about 54, but we’ll see,” Swank told The Center Square Tuesday night.
Currently King County is the only county in Washington with an appointed sheriff.
If Amendment 53 had passed, Swank would have been removed from office.
“I think Pierce County voters are very intelligent and they wanted to make sure they keep their right to vote for sheriff,” Swank said.
A provision to remove Swank from office Jan 1, 2027, if Amendment 53 had passed was added by Commissioner Justin Leighton as last minute language in mid-June, just two weeks before final approval of amendments to be sent to the ballot.
“There’s still probably about 100,000 votes still out there, but I’m pretty confident 53 is going down,” said Swank. “Voters in Pierce County are pretty smart.”