Mendocino County releases final number of ballots remaining: 16,568 ballots left to count

MENDOCINO Co., 3/9/20 — This morning, Registrar-Recorder Katrina Bartolomei announced the number of ballots from the March 3 primary election that are “left to count.” A total of 16,568 ballots must still be processed, which means an additional 261 ballots arrived in the mail since the last tally, and overall voter turnout was just over 56.5% of Mendocino’s registered voters. Mendocino County was required by law to accept all ballots that arrive by mail through March 6, which means the election’s office did not have a complete count of the total number of ballots cast in this year’s March 3 primary election until today.

This means that though it is extremely unlikely that the outcome of the supervisorial races in districts 4 and 2 will change, several of the school bond measures remain to close to call.Additionally, it is still possible that Glenn McGourty will gain enough votes to achieve an absolute majority in the First District, thus avoiding a run-off — but this is also still to close to call. If he fails to get that majority it is almost certain that Jon Kennedy will join in the general election run-off.

As of time of publication the Election Office’s current tabulations are still those issued just around 1 a.m. on March 4. The final count will include the additional 16,568 ballots consisting of late arriving vote-by-mail, as well as the provisional and conditional ballots cast at the polls. Mendocino County has a total of 51,968 registered voters, and 29,383 ballots were cast, which means turnout in this year’s primaries was 56.54% of registered voters. The total population of the county is around 89,000, of whom only 21% are children under 18. The number of ballots remaining to be counted means results in some races could still shift. The county has 28 days from March 3 to certify the final results.

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Here’s the breakdown for which ballots remain to be counted, below, including the three supervisorial districts with a contested seat, as well as school districts that voted on bond measures, and other ballot measures. Some measures need 55% of votes to pass, and in the supervisorial races, if no candidate wins a majority, the top two candidates will go onto to compete for the seat in the November, 2020 elections. You can read our previous 2020 election coverage here.

You can see the results most recent count, issued early March 3, in this article, however, in some races there are a significant portion of ballots left to be counted, and so the results could shift. The county’s current election results page include statewide races is here.

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Ballots counted, left to count, and total registered voters:

• District 1: 2,329 votes have been counted and 2,727 are left to count, out of 10,070 registered voters (no change from March 5 update)
• District 2: 1,707 votes have been counted, 3,023 are left to count, out of 9,197 registered voters (increase in 9 votes since March 5 update)
• District 4: 2,526 votes have been counted, 3,750 are left to count, out of 10,384 registered voters (increase in 20 voters since March 5 update)
• Measure A – Ukiah Unified school district bond: 4,827 votes have been counted and 6,615 are left to count, out of 21,386 registered voters; currently at 438 for and 407 against, needs 55% to pass.
• Measure B – Fort Bragg Unified school district bond: 2,304 votes have been counted and 3,314 are left to count, out of 8,994 registered voters; currently at 243 for and 181 against, needs 55% to pass.
• Measure C – Mendocino Coast Health Care District: 3,657 votes have been counted and 5,151 are left to count, out of 13,526 registered voters; currently at 803 for and 85 against.
• Measures D & E – Mendocino County unincorporated areas have 8,936 counted and 11,797 left to count.
• Measure G – Willits Unified school district bond: 2,246 votes have been counted and 2,081 are left to count, out of 8,082 registered voters; currently at 437 for and 349 against, needs 55% to pass.
• Measure H – Mendocino Unified school district bond: 1,339 votes have been counted and 1,888 are left to count, out of 4,439 registered voters; currently at 310 for and 156 against, needs 55% to pass.