Unofficial results of the June 2 election, with almost all ballots counted, have San Benito County District 5 Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez trailing by 36 votes in his effort to survive a citizen-initiated recall.
The county elections office has counted all ballots cast locally in the election except for 243 ballots that are damaged, unreadable or challenged, according to the Registrar of Voters website. Among those are 47 ballots in District 5—enough for “no” votes to potentially overcome the deficit.
Chief Deputy County Clerk Ana De Castro Maquiz said challenged ballots include mail-in ballots that were not signed by the voter, or the signature did not match those found in elections office records.
The county registrar’s office, which also serves as the county clerk’s office, has begun reaching out to all June 2 voters whose ballots are challenged—by phone, email and snail mail—to give them a chance to reconcile their votes.
Representatives of the campaigns in all races on the ballot have been notified that they can purchase county voter roll information from the registrar’s office, and may contact those whose ballots were challenged to encourage them to confirm their votes with elections officials, De Castro Maquiz said.
A total of 16,679 ballots have been counted countywide in the primary election that included supervisor district 3 and 4, a number of other county offices and statewide races for governor, lieutenant governor and more.
In the District 5 recall, proponents need a simple majority to remove Velazquez from office.
The latest ballot count, posted to the registrar’s site about 3pm June 12, shows 1,304 “yes” votes for the recall, versus 1,268 “no” votes. A total of 2,572 votes have been counted in the District 5 recall.
If the recall is successful, Gov. Gavin Newsom will appoint someone to replace Velazquez for the remainder of his term, which ends in December 2028.
The June 12 ballot count update from the registrar’s office did not indicate a change in the projected outcomes of other local races. District 3 Supervisor Mindy Sotelo and District 4 Supervisor Angela Curro are on track to win their primary bids outright, by large margins.
County Clerk-Recorder Francisco Diaz leads challenger Dan Sanchez with about 83% of the votes, according to elections officials.
In the election for County Superintendent of Schools, where no incumbent ran, Jennifer S. Logue retains a solid lead with 54.92%, versus 45.08% for Gwen Baquiran.
County Auditor-Controller Joe Paul Gonzalez is the only local incumbent on the June 2 ballot projected to lose his reelection bid. Candidate Laura Garcilazo has received about 57% of the vote in the two-person race.
And the Measure D vote for a county Cannabis Business Activities Tax shows overwhelming voter support, with 67.5% of ballots casting “yes” votes. The measure allows the board of supervisors to raise revenue for the county general fund by taxing cannabis cultivation activity on a per-acre basis.
