LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Registrar of Voters Office on Friday said it still has a small number of ballots yet to count as part of finalizing the election results for Northshore Fire’s Measure N tax.
At the same time, the Northshore Fire Protection District’s board chair said they have received messages from community members who reported they didn’t receive ballots or only got them in the mail this week.
The fire district put the parcel tax before more than 6,300 registered voters on the Northshore on Tuesday. Four precincts were open in Clearlake Oaks, Lucerne, Nice and Upper Lake.
Measure N needs a supermajority of 66.7 percent to pass.
An updated preliminary count released Friday shows that 1,971 ballots have been counted – 1,634 absentee, 337 percent.
Of those, 1,242 ballots, or 63.01 percent, were cast in favor of the measure, while 729 ballots, or 36.99, voted no.
The overall participation rate for the special election is estimated at 30.92 percent, according to the Friday report.
The Registrar of Voters Office must complete the official canvass – which began on Thursday and will continue until Dec. 5 – in order to certify the election, according to Registrar of Voters Catherine McMullen.
McMullen gave the following breakdown of the 48 ballots that remain to be counted during the official canvass:
· Ballots voted at the polling places on Election Day: 6.
· Vote-by-mail ballots dropped off at the polls on Election Day: 0.
· Vote-by-mail ballots returned via mail postmarked on or before Election Day, Nov. 5, and received by the Registrar of Voters Office by Friday, Nov. 8: 1
· Vote-by-mail ballots that require further review: 41.
· Provisional ballots: 0.
McMullen said provisional ballots and vote-by-mail ballots requiring further review may be entirely counted, partially counted or not counted.
At the same time, this week Northshore Fire Protection District Chair Jim Burton said he has been receiving calls from community members who said they did not receive ballots for the measure or only received them this week.
He said the committee that supported and campaigned for Measure N plans to report these concerns to the Registrar of Voters Office.
McMullen said the results released on Friday will be the last update until the final certified results of the election are released when the official canvass ends on Dec. 5.
There are many checks and balances when certifying election results as part of the official canvass, which McMullen is mandated by state law to ensure that the public can have confidence in the integrity of the final results.
Anyone with questions about the elections process can contact the Registrar of Voters Office at 707-263-2372, Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or stop by the office on the second floor of the Lake County Courthouse, 255 N. Forbes St. in Lakeport.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.
Registrar of Voters Office issues update on ballots still to be counted for Measure N
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On