Final Stanislaus election results show record numbers, Clinton victory

Stanislaus County residents finally saw the complete results from the history-making Nov. 8 election almost a month after the polls closed.

The results, released Monday, were eagerly awaited by Turlock residents, who finally learned that Councilwoman Amy Bublak defeated Steven Nascimento in a council district election.

The results from the county Registrar of Voters Office also reveal some changes in the local political landscape. With the final tallies, we know that:

▪ Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton received 47 percent of the votes from county residents, though Donald Trump (with 45 percent) will occupy the White House for the next four years.

▪ Party registration has flipped in the county, with 39 percent registered Democrats and 37 percent Republicans.

▪ County residents are split over marijuana legalization. Proposition 64 barely prevailed in the county with 50.21 percent in favor and 49.79 percent opposed (a margin of 735 votes).

▪ Voter turnout for the election was 73 percent, the highest on record going back to the early 1990s. It suggests that residents who ignore local elections are inspired by presidential campaigns.

Stanislaus County has never had so many registered voters – 241,196. Of the 176,992 who voted, a record 130,468 voted by mail.

The November election should translate into smoother roads and wider traffic corridors for the county.

Passage of Measure L creates a sales tax for transportation, giving Stanislaus more leverage to get federal dollars for expanded roads and cross-county expressways.

Residents also witnessed how California’s “top two candidates” open primary can produce an unexpected result. The June primary put two Republicans, former San Joaquin County Supervisor Ken Vogel and Heath Flora of Ripon, on the November ballot because they captured the most votes among the Republicans and Democrats in the primary.

Flora got elected to the state Assembly without any experience in public office or a Republican Party endorsement. Flora will succeed termed-out Assemblywoman Kristin Olsen in the 12th Assembly District. Olsen will join the county Board of Supervisors in January, replacing Supervisor Bill O’Brien to represent Riverbank and Oakdale.

Newer election laws and technology are making it easier for people to vote; at the same time, the process of counting ballots has become incredibly slow.

At their meeting Tuesday, where Registrar of Voters Lee Lundrigan presented the Nov. 8 results, county supervisors defended the elections office for delays in finishing the count.

A major reason for the delay was more than 13,000 provisional ballots, which need to be carefully examined to prevent someone from voting twice. Provisional ballots are issued at polling places to people whose names are not on voter rosters, because they’ve gone to the wrong place or they’re not registered to vote.

Lundrigan said a large majority of provisional ballots were given to folks who signed up for a vote-by-mail ballot but did not use it and went to the polls. Here’s a message for future elections: If you ask for and receive a mail ballot prior to an election, make sure to mark it, sign the envelope and mail it.

O’Brien said he believes the waiting time for election results is going to worsen with same-day registration. Starting next year, people in California will be able to register to vote on Election Day and then cast a ballot.

Lundrigan, who’s a stickler for accuracy, agreed it is going to take longer to complete election results and believes lawmakers will allow more time for county election offices. Under the current rules, county offices have 28 days to complete the count for presidential races and 30 days for all other contests and measures.

It’s not clear yet how much time counties will be given to complete the count.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 6:57 PM with the headline "Final Stanislaus election results show record numbers, Clinton victory."