Ballot counting continues after heavy turnout in local elections

 

More than 84,000 ballots were cast by Merced County voters in the Nov. 5 General Election, according to the local Elections Department. As of the Times press deadline on Wednesday morning, approximately 55 percent of those ballots were counted and reported; however, a major update was expected on Thursday evening, Nov. 14. 

In the last Presidential Election of 2020, voter turnout amounted to 78.72 percent, with 92,424 ballots cast among 117,413 registered voters. For the 2024 election, registered voters numbered 132,016. 

“Administering an election is a meticulous process,” said Mel Levey, Merced County Registrar of Voters. “My team and I have a razor-sharp focus on accuracy and efficiency, ensuring that every legally cast ballot is counted and recorded appropriately.”

Levey reported that nearly 14,000 voters chose to vote in-person for the election, a number far greater than any prior election since the county formally adopted the Vote Center model a few election cycles ago. While lines were long at some locations, Levey said poll workers ensured that every voter was served, in particular on Election Night as the polls closed at 8 p.m. 

“Due to the number of voters in line at 8 p.m., some Vote Centers did not close until midnight,” the Registrar reported. 

Among the many required tasks such as monitoring tabulators and verifying signatures, Elections Department workers are busy processing provisional and conditional ballots cast. The Registrar of Voters is expected to certify the official results on Dec. 3. 

Meanwhile, here’s a look at how local races are shaping up: 

 

Duarte leads Gray;
Soria ahead of Rose

All eyes are on the 13th Congressional District race between Rep. John Duarte and Adam Gray, along with the 27th District State Assembly race between Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria and Joanna Garcia Rose.

So far, Duarte, the incumbent Republican, has more than 3,000 votes over Gray, a 51 percent to 49 percent split.

A Duarte win could add to what’s being predicted as a slight Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives going forward with the new Trump presidency. However, key congressional races have yet to be determined across the United States. 

As for Soria, she has maintained a steady lead over Rose since Election Day, up 52.9 percent to 47.1 percent of the vote. 

 

Merced City Council

It’s looking like Mayor Matthew Serratto, with a big lead over challenger Anthony Martinez since Election night, will start a second term along with incumbent District 5 Councilwoman Sarah Boyle, who also holds a sizable lead over opponent Alex Carrillo. 

Boyle is poised to be the only woman on the City Council, in a town where more than 50 percent of the population is listed as female. 

In the two other Council races, Mike Harris, a city planning commissioner and retired first responder, was ahead of the closest competitor, Sair Lara, by 262 votes in the District 3 race. And Darin DuPont led Walter Smith by only 119 votes in a close District 1 race. 

DuPont told the Times he was feeling cautiously optimistic about the results, but he actually spent the weekend concentrating on very important happenings in his family life. On Tuesday, his wife Bianca gave birth to their first child, a girl they named Leilani. 

If his lead holds, DuPont, a local attorney, will have a lot on his plate as a newly elected leader and a new father. He would also be the first candidate in many years — perhaps ever — to come from a strong Filipino background, (from his father’s side of the family). 

If Smith pulls out a win in the District 1 race, he would likely become the only African American on the Council. African Americans account for less than 5 percent of the population in Merced, according to census data. 

Also of note, if all the current leads hold, there will be only one Latino leader on the council going into 2025, Ronnie DeAnda. Latinos or Hispanics make up about 59 percent of the population in Merced. In contrast, a majority of the council (or at least four members), if current leads hold, would be considered White. About 38 percent of the Merced population is considered White.

 

Local measures

Measure R — the public safety measure to support the Sheriff’s Department, the District Attorney’s Office, and other agencies — was falling short of the necessary two thirds majority vote to pass. The YES votes were only ahead by 56.82 percent, about 10 percent short. 

In contrast, Measure O —the Merced City School District’s (MCSD) facilities bond — is looking good with YES votes at 62.83 percent. It only needs 55 percent.   

 

School districts

Speaking of the MCSD, Tsia Xiong and Annie Delgado were ahead in their respective races to win seats on the district’s Board of Education. At the Merced Union High School District, Area 3 board candidate Julio Valdez pulled slightly ahead of Sam Spangler, with a difference of just 81 votes. In the Area 4 race, Amalee Jayasinghe had a strong lead, as did Kurt Kollmann in the Area 5 race. 

Concerning the board races for the Merced County Office of Education, incumbent Frank Fagundes had a 55.44 percent lead over Jose Naranjo for the Area 3 seat. In the Area 4 race, Robert Wallis had just an 83 vote lead over candidate Rodrigo Espinosa (who will be leaving his position as a county supervisor later this year). Incumbent Fred Honore was in third place but not far behind with 26.6 percent of the vote. 

 

Atwater Council

It’s looking pretty good that incumbent Councilman John Cale will be reelected to a second term, as he held 58.54 percent of the vote in the District 1 race as of Wednesday morning. Meanwhile Kalisa Rochester is only 108 votes ahead of her competitor, Adrian Lopez-Juarez for the District 2 seat on the Council. 

 

Livingston Council

Over in Livingston things are even tighter, with Jason Roth falling slightly behind after an initial surge in the race for mayor. Incumbent Jose Moran pulled ahead over the weekend, now up by 49 votes. The leaders in the race for the city’s two Council seats up for grabs were Japjeet Singh and Rodrigo Espinosa, who is also running for a seat on the MCOE board. 

 

Los Banos Council

Los Banos voters have overwhelming voted YES to recall two City Council members — Douglas Begonia Jr. in District 2 and Brett Jones in District 3. In the mayor’s race, Michael Amabile is ahead with 44.79 percent of the vote. There’s also a District 1 race that’s extremely close, with Kenneth Lambert holding an edge of 13 votes. It’s also close for a District 4 race with Deborah Lewis leading with 52.3 percent of the vote. 

 

Other races

In Dos Palos, Katy Miller Reed ran uncontested for mayor, as did Pat Nagy in Gustine. Armando Bravo and Marcos Porter are headed without challenge to the Dos Palos City Council. In Gustine, it looks like Blake Mitchell Giles and Mark Melville for two seats on the City Council. 

 

Last but not least

In case you are wondering, it appears most local voters supported Donald J. Trump for president, with a 52.38 percentage compared to 45.72 percent who voted for Kamala Harris. Of course, that’s among the ballots already counted as of Wednesday morning. 

 

This week, Registrar of Voters Mel Levey also made the following comment: “The Merced County Elections team has been hard at work for several months to administer a professional election that is free, fair, accurate, secure, and fully transparent. Nearly 300 individuals have worked for the Department during this election, and you will simply not find more dedicated public servants than these individuals who are working tirelessly on behalf of Merced County voters. While we are making great progress, we kindly request the public’s patience as voters expect and deserve their elections to be accurate.”

The next anticipated release of election results is planned for Nov. 14, at 5:00 p.m. For information related to election results, and ballot processing schedules, please visit www.mercedelections.org.