Crider and Fuller lead Island County auditor race in early results

Sheilah Crider and Barbara Fuller moved into the lead in Island County’s auditor race as the first primary results came in Tuesday night. The office at the center of the contest does far more than tally votes: Island County says the auditor supervises elections and voter registration, records and maintains permanent county records, licenses vehicles and vessels and handles financial services.

That reach shows up in daily county life from Coupeville to Camano Island. Island County lists the auditor’s office at 1 NE 7th Street in the Administration Building in Coupeville, with a main phone number of 360-679-7366. The Whidbey Office is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and the Camano Office keeps the same weekday hours, with lunch closure from 1 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The recording department maintains and indexes official public records for real estate documents, deeds and titles transacted in Island County, and marriage licenses can be completed in person at the auditor’s office between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Washington State Archives holds Island County Auditor marriage records from 1855 to 1994 and from 2001 to 2023, along with miscellaneous recordings and plats and surveys from 2001 to 2023.

The early count mattered because Island County’s election results page said primary returns would first post after 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, and the county’s cumulative results report dated that day showed 15,998 of 66,033 registered voters, or 24.23%, with 0 of 180 precincts reporting at the moment captured in the snapshot. Crider’s lead was especially notable because Ballotpedia lists her as an independent candidate in the Aug. 4 primary. Ballotpedia also names Fuller, Andrea Downs and Terry Lacey in the 2026 auditor field.

The contest has drawn extra attention because the auditor’s office sits at the intersection of election administration and public records, two systems residents rely on when they vote, record property, or file for licenses. Island County has already seen how close county races can require more scrutiny: after the Nov. 8, 2022 general election, the county issued a notice saying it had two recounts. That history makes early results a marker of momentum, not a final answer, in a race that helps determine how smoothly Island County government runs every day.