Hollister
– The primary election Tuesday was a
”
great success,
”
according to Registrar John Hodges, who said that both voters
and poll workers did a good job adjusting to San Benito County’s
new electronic voting machines.
Hollister – The primary election Tuesday was a “great success,” according to Registrar John Hodges, who said that both voters and poll workers did a good job adjusting to San Benito County’s new electronic voting machines.
“The new equipment had staff on edge as far as them wanting to do everything right,” Hodges said. “I think that goal was accomplished.”
While preliminary election results – excluding provisional ballots and late-arriving absentee ballots – were released late Tuesday night, the results won’t be official until they are certified in about three weeks, according to Hodges.
The county Elections Department is still processing 3,000 absentee ballots received after last Friday and 101 provisional ballots, according to Assistant County Clerk Lillian Pereria. Until the votes are processed, it can not be determined whether they will count in the final tally, she said. The process might take several days, according to Hodges.
All together, nearly 9,000 San Benito residents cast votes Tuesday – about 35 percent of the county’s more than 25,000 registered voters.
Some candidates, such as Pat Loe in the District 3 supervisorial race, received such an overwhelming vote that it’s safe to call them as winners based on the preliminary numbers, Hodges said. Other races – the District 4 supervisorial race, for example – are too close to call until all the votes are counted, he said.
Loe garnered nearly 55 percent of the 1086 votes counted as of late Tuesday. Opponent Richard Place received more than 31 percent. Ron Stubblefield, who died on May 22 after suffering an apparent heart attack, took nearly 14 percent of the vote, most of them absentee ballots submitted before his passing.
In District 4, Incumbent Reb Monaco had a slight lead over his two competitors with more than 36 percent of the 1,783 votes so far county. Political newcomer Tracie Cone came out of the primary with more than 34 percent of the vote. Hodges, who was also a candidate in the District 4 race, trailed the pack with about 29 percent. If the percentages hold steady throughout the certification process, Monaco will face Cone in a runoff election November.
The three-way race for district attorney was another that is too close to call based on the preliminary election results, according to Hodges. Though it appears that candidate Candice Hooper Mancino won the office outright Tuesday with 50.45 percent of votes so far counted, there is still a chance for a November runoff if the outstanding votes go to Cantu or Sarsfield, he said. Local defense attorney Art Cantu garnered nearly 28 percent. Incumbent John Sarsfield received nearly 22 percent of votes.
To comply with 2002’s Help America Vote Act, San Benito County ditched its punch card voting machines and purchased the touchscreen electronic machines that debuted on Tuesday. Election Specialist Mike Hodges said that, while he saw nothing wrong with the old machines, the first round of electronic voting in the county was a success. There were no major problems to report, he said.
“I thought it was great. They lived up to all the expectations and better,” he said.
For the third election in a row, the United States Department of Justice sent staff into San Benito County to monitor the election. The DOJ took notice of San Benito’s elections in 2004, after the local chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens complained that the county did not provide Spanish language voting materials. The DOJ determined that San Benito did not accommodate Spanish speaking voters in the March, 2004 election. The issue has since been rectified, according to John Hodges. Ballots this year were printed in both English and Spanish.
Elections in Santa Clara, Alameda, San Mateo, Ventura, Orange and San Diego counties were also monitored by the DOJ.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at lr****@fr***********.com
