13,000 Sutter County ballots left
Ken Slade of Yuba City votes at a booth in Veterans Hall in Yuba City. “It’s very important, especially since my African-american ancestors paid the ultimate price for the right to vote. So for that reason I always vote,” he said. “Everyone should take part in the democratic process no matter what their ancestry or heritage is.”
With thousands of votes still left to be counted, it’s difficult to say that any race in Yuba County has been decided at this point, but with about onethird of registered voters having had their ballots processed, the outcomes of a number of races are beginning to take shape.
The Yuba County Elections Office had its hands full Tuesday helping first-time voters register and cast a ballot. While June was the first time residents could sign up to vote the same day and cast a provisional ballot, the primaries were far less overwhelming for the county than it was during the midterm elections.
“It went well. It was much more than we expected
it would be when it comes to firsttime voters. They were just very time-consuming – the conditional voters – because they need so much assistance before they can even get a ballot. But people were in a good mood and waited patiently while everything was being processed. We didn’t have any serious problems at the polls either, so overall it went well,” said Terry Hansen, county clerk-recorder.
Turnout on Election Day was much higher than it has been in past midterm elections, Hansen said, but her office was expecting it because of the nationwide trend. Polling locations also saw a large number of vote-by-mail ballots dropped off on Tuesday, which will end up holding the official tally up a bit while election officials go to certify them.
The Elections Office estimated on Wednesday afternoon that there are still 8,453 unprocessed ballots. With new protocol allowing for voteby-mail ballots to be received up to three days after the election – as long as they are postmarked by 8 p.m. on election night – the number of unprocessed ballots will likely continue to change in the coming days.
“I don’t expect to update any new numbers until next week. I know we have some close races and understand people are anxious to find out who won, but it’s a process that takes time,” Hansen said. “Please be patient and keep checking our website for updates.”
The closest race is for county supervisor District 1 between Andy Vasquez and Joan Saunders. Vasquez was ahead by only 21 votes on Wednesday. There were 22 writein votes that could prove to be what pushed things in his favor if final tallies continue along the same path.
Hansen said her office hasn’t had a chance to view the write-in votes to see who might’ve been the alternative choice for some voters.
Vasquez and Saunders both said they felt confident on election night that the race was still within their grasp. They thanked their supporters and said they were happy with the turnout.
Hansen said another race too close to call on Wednesday was for Measure K – a public safety/essential services sales tax increase. On Wednesday, the majority of voters were in favor of the sales tax increase – with 52 percent of the total vote – but with 326 votes separating the yes and the no vote, things could change as more ballots are counted.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our Yuba County voters. There has been significant community interest regarding Measure K, and if approved we know it will help address adequate levels of essential services and public safety, and it maintains emergency response and will help in attracting and retaining jobs in Yuba County,” said Yuba County Administrator Robert Bendorf. “But we will have to wait until the final results are in. There are still several thousand ballots left to be counted. I’m just very pleased with the engagement we had with the community, the input we received from the community and the large numbers that turned out to vote.”
In District 5, the supervisor race currently favors Randy Fletcher to keep his seat, with 49 percent of the vote. He is ahead of Alton Wright by 504 votes. A write-in candidate received 551 of the votes – while it’s uncertain exactly who received those votes at the moment, a large number if not all are likely to be for John Mistler, who campaigned as a write-in candidate.
“Obviously, what an honor it is to take on another four years. Yes, we do have lots of work to do. I’m up
for the challenge. With the support of the community and all the other entities I’m attached to, I think we are on a great track,” Fletcher said Wednesday.
But Wright said it’s too early to count him out. He’s holding out hope that the remaining unprocessed ballots will swing the vote in his favor.
“I have a lot of hope. I know there are a lot of people out there that want significant change in the county and on the board, and I’m hopeful those are out there with the unprocessed ballots and we will have some different results in the next week or so,” Wright said.
With two seats up for grabs on the City Council, the current tally shows Bruce Buttacavoli and Brad Hudson winning the race. They received 46 percent of the vote and 31 percent of the vote, respectively. Still, incumbent Christopher Pedigo is only 180 votes shy of edging out Hudson for the second seat.
“I’m so impressed and grateful for all the support that I got. It was truly touching to receive all the support. I hope I can make everybody proud,” Buttacavoli said.
Pedigo said he had reached out to the other candidates on Wednesday to congratulate them on the early results. He said it will be tough for him to overcome the gap but said he would be more than happy to continue on as a council member if things changed.
“It appears the people have spoken. I’ve served six great years on the council, and I believe I’ll be leaving the city better off than where it was when I started. I’m just thankful and humbled that our citizens allowed me to serve for six years. I’m thankful for the support of everyone who helped along the way,” Pedigo said.
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