BELLINGHAM — A proposition to expand the Port of Bellingham commission to five members lost a little more ground in the latest tabulation of countywide election ballots released Thursday, Nov. 8.

Although thousands of mail-in ballots are still to be counted, the yes votes now trail the nays by 1,653, and there is no indication of any late surge in favor of the measure.

The countywide port district is now governed by three commissioners elected from the same three districts that choose Whatcom County Council members. The expansion proposition asked voters to approve carving up the county into five port commissioner districts, with two new commissioners to be chosen at the polls in November 2013.

Bellingham voters approved the expansion proposition, but not by a wide enough margin to overcome opposition elsewhere in Whatcom County.

Reach JOHN STARK at 360-715-2274 or john.stark@bellinghamherald.com . Read the Politics Blog at blogs.bellinghamherald.com/politics.