MONTEREY COUNTY — California voters have returned their ballots to choose candidates for various state and county offices as well as local measures in the June 7 primary election, the results of which are continuing to be counted.
Monterey County Elections Department announced Friday that it has processed all ballots that have been returned to the department. Voter turnout was reported at 31.06%, or 64,685 of 208,274 registered voters in the county.
Any voter who received a notice regarding a missing or mismatched signature has until June 22 to return their signature statement. The department is scheduled to certify election results by Friday, June 24.
The county is currently in the official 30-day election canvass period as required by law to conduct a full accounting and tabulation of all ballots cast in the election, including provisional and vote-by-mail ballots delivered on Election Day or received during the seven days after the election.
County elections officials must report final official results by July 8 to the Secretary of State, who will then certify the results on July 15.
County contests
In the primary election, county and local nonpartisan candidates who receive more than 50% of the vote are elected. If no candidate wins outright, the two with the most votes will appear on the Nov. 8 California General Election ballot in a runoff.
Monterey County’s latest report on election results — released Friday, June 17 — show a tight race for County Supervisor in District 2. Currently, candidate Glenn Church (3,681 votes, 33.55%) will face off against Regina Gage (2,167 votes, 19.75%) in November, but Kimberly Craig (2,146 votes, 19.56%) is right behind.
In the race for Monterey County Sheriff, candidate Tina Nieto (29,643 votes, 48.89%) will compete against Joe Moses (15,599 votes, 25.73%) in the fall, unless Nieto receives additional votes to pass the 50% threshold needed to win.
For Trustee Area 1 on the Monterey County Board of Education Governing Board, Annette Yee Steck (9,932 votes, 57.55%) was elected against Jake Odello (7,327 votes, 42.45%).
In Chualar, Rebecca Trujillo (82 votes, 56.94%) beat Ofelia Flores (62 votes, 43.06%) for the Trustee Area 3 seat on the Chualar Union School District Governing Board.
As the only contenders running in their respective contests, the following candidates were also elected: Chris Lopez, County Supervisor District 3; Deneen Guss, Monterey County Superintendent of Schools; Marina Camacho, Assessor-County Clerk/Recorder; Rupa Shah, Auditor/Controller; Jeannine Pacioni, District Attorney; and Mary Zeeb, Treasurer/Tax Collector.
County measures
As of Monterey County’s latest results, two local measures are currently failing.
San Lucas Union School District’s Measure C, which needs 2/3 (67%) voter approval to pass, has received 22 votes, or 59.46%, in favor versus 15 votes, or 40.54%, against.
Measure C would issue $3.6 million in bonds to “construct a new track and shade structures, replace portable classrooms and improve other school facilities; replace outdated infrastructure; and improve the quality of education,” according to the ballot text.
City of Del Rey Oaks’ Measure B, which requires a majority voter approval, has been voted down so far with 399 votes, or 50.96%, against versus 384 votes, or 49.04%, in favor.
Measure B would prohibit the City of Del Rey Oaks “from agreeing to or constructing any tunnel, including the one proposed by FORTAG under Highway 218 for access to the Frog Pond Wetland Preserve, and be limited to the use of Highway 218, General Jim Moore Blvd. and South Boundary Rd. for the construction or routing of any formal bike trails, or recreation trails within the City of Del Rey Oaks unless otherwise approved by the voters,” the ballot text stated.
Statewide contests
For statewide contests in the primary election, the top two candidates with the most votes for state and federal offices — regardless of political party preference — are nominated to run in the November general election.
As of Thursday, June 16, the latest statewide election results are the following:
Governor — Gavin Newsom (D) 3,414,642, 55.9%, and Brian Dahle (R) 1,081,299, 17.7%
Lieutenant Governor — Eleni Kounalakis (D) 3,126,518, 52.6%, and Angela E. Underwood Jacobs (R) 1,193,865, 20.1%
Secretary of State — Shirley N. Weber (D) 3,474,120, 58.9%, and Rob Bernosky (R) 1,121,116, 19.0%
Controller — Lanhee Chen (R) 2,196,945, 37.3%, and Malia M. Cohen (D) 1,322,218, 22.5%
State Treasurer — Fiona Ma (D) 3,378,631, 57.4%, and Jack M. Guerrero (R) 1,287,450, 21.9%
Attorney General — Rob Bonta (D) 3,258,383, 54.5%, and Nathan Hochman (R) 1,109,209, 18.5%
Insurance Commissioner — Ricardo Lara (D) 2,109,058, 36.2%, and Robert Howell (R) 1,062,259, 18.2%
Superintendent of Public Instruction — Tony K. Thurmond 2,495,199, 45.9%, and Lance Ray Christensen 645,384, 11.9%
U.S. Senator, Full Term — Alex Padilla (D) 3,210,888, 54.0%, and Mark P. Meuser (R) 887,776, 14.9%
U.S. Senator, Partial/Unexpired Term — Alex Padilla (D) 3,219,660, 54.8%, and Mark P. Meuser (R) 1,307,729, 22.3%
Local districtwide contests included:
State Board of Equalization Board Member District 2 — Sally J. Lieber (D) 917,886, 53.1%, and Peter Coe Verbica (R) 477,214, 27.6%
U.S. Representative District 18 — Zoe Lofgren (D) 47,987, 56.3%, and Peter Hernandez (R) 26,652, 31.3%
U.S. Representative District 19 — Jimmy Panetta (D) 103,666, 68.0%, and Jeff Gorman (R) 34,533, 22.6%
Member of the State Assembly District 29 — Robert Rivas (D) 35,003, 64.0%, and Stephanie L. Castro (R) 19,649, 36.0%
Member of the State Assembly District 30 — Dawn Addis (D) 40,915, 42.7%, and Vicki Nohrden (R) 32,282, 33.7%
For complete statewide election results, go to vote.sos.ca.gov.
