Tuesday marked the nearly there point in closing the chapter on the Nov. 6 Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District Election.
That’s because our Chief Elections Officer Warren Slocum put his John Hancock on the Statement of the Vote, certifying the results of the 41 local races and ballot measures. It’s a pretty weighty document, 147 pages in all, but it’s yours for the viewing.
Certification marks the end of the required one percent manual recount, which took about three days to complete last week.
Elections Manager David Tom said the recount revealed nothing out of the ordinary, with small discrepancies requiring reconcilliation that are common in every election.
“The machine votes were perfect,” Tom said, referring to recounted votes that were cast on eSlates, our electronic voting machines. “The paper ballots, there’s room for interpretation. One here, one there. It’s typically what we find in any election.”
The optical scanners which read paper ballots can get confused by, for example, a ballot with a check-mark next to a candidate’s name instead of a filled-in box. Or one too many candidates selected for a race. All of those ballots must be individually examined by hand to discern the voter’s intent in the way a machine can not.
But it was nothing so unusual or voluminous that it changed the results of any race – just a vote here or there, Tom said. That is perhaps not the case everywhere, where recounts in nail-bitingly close races are dragging on for days and altering outcomes. Check out the city council race in Riverside, and 38 jurisdictions in Connecticut.
When all the counting was done, 75,394 ballots had been cast in the election. A whopping 63 percent of those ballots were Vote by Mail. That’s a huge increase over the last election, when just under 50 percent of the ballots were Vote by Mail.
Voter turnout actually ended up being a bit higher than we previous reported, at a little over 24 percent. (Initial counts were showing a turnout of just 19 percent of the county’s 310,000 registered voters.) That pretty much puts it on par with the turnout in the last Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District Election held in Nov. 2003, and actually just a tad higher.
The certified results were approved by the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors at their meeting Tuesday. And though that seems like it should signify the end of the election, it doesn’t quite.
Candidates or sponsors of measures have five days from Tuesday to ask for a recount of a race, which they’ll have to pay for at their own expense. No requests yet, but we can’t officially throw in the towel until those five days have passed without incident. Beyond that, any contesting has to be done in the courts.
But with just that final step lingering, elections folk have already gotten started preparing for the Presidential Primary on Feb. 5.
“We’re moving forward to the next election,” Tom said. “Starting all over again.”
8 responses so far ↓
Christopher Schmidt // November 28, 2007 at 11:19 pm |
Out of curiosity, how many absentee ballots were received after the deadline and not counted? With most voters relying on absentee ballots, I think we’d all like to know how many don’t count.
For a friend’s ballot mailed on election day, the “Track Your Vote” feature still says “Not returned yet.”. I didn’t expect his ballot to count, but I expected the “Track Your Vote” feature to be more explicit.
The “Track a Contest” feature was a lot of fun, and a great feature, but I wish it had reported the electronic vote separate from the paper vote. I was very disappointed that San Mateo County proceeded to use electronic machines while the vast majority of counties returned to more trustworthy paper this election.
Also, I didn’t appreciate the disdain shown paper ballots at the polling place. Cascade dishwasher detergent comes in a sturdier cardboard box! It’s hard not to interpret this change as intimation that paper voting is risker than electronic voting.
FWIW, several friends told me–and I agree–that they would trust the new machines more if the paper trail were completely counted in all precincts, and served as the official vote; the electronic vote serving only as a check on the accuracy of the paper scanning process.
I hope this doesn’t sound too cranky! –I wouldn’t bother posting if the San Mateo County ROV weren’t the best run and most responsive government agency I’ve dealt with. Thanks!!
Rebekah Gordon // November 30, 2007 at 4:36 pm |
Christopher poses a worthwhile question about the number of Vote by Mail ballots that were received after 8 p.m. on Election Day and thus not counted. The answer is 484.
If they were added to the total of 75,394 votes cast in the Nov. 6 election, the would represent just 0.6 percent of the vote.
We’ll take this opportunity to remind voters that if you Vote by Mail, your ballot must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day. A postmark does not cut it. If it’s getting close to the deadline, forgo the mail and drop your ballot off in person at any polling place on Election Day. That will ensure it’s counted.
John P // November 5, 2008 at 9:45 am |
The Track Your Vote feature does not appear to have been updated since the day before the election.
I have used the mail-in ballot for many years. This time, I deposited my mail-in ballot in the official voting box at the office of the voting commission in downtown Redwood City. The employee watching the process told me that the ballots placed in the box were continually being collected and scanned, to keep up with the large number of ballots coming in.
However, when I run Track Your Vote at http://www.shapethefuture.org/apps/vabl/, I get “Not returned yet.” Same for my wife’s ballot. I checked again this morning, 2 days after the ballots were deposited. Still says “Not returned yet.”
What’s going on?
Since I deposited it myself at voting headquarters,
Kriselle Laran // November 5, 2008 at 9:51 am |
Hi John,
It’s hard to check without knowing more, so I would call our office. Please feel free to call 650-312-5222!
John P // November 5, 2008 at 10:26 am |
The Track Your Vote feature does not appear to have been updated since the day before the election.
My wife & I have used the mail-in ballot for many years (writing my registered address on the envelope and signing, as instructed). This time, I deposited my mail-in ballot in the official voting box at 555 County Center, Redwood City, on Monday Nov 3, 8:30 am. The employee watching the process told me that the ballots placed in the box were continually being collected and scanned, to keep up with the large number of ballots coming in.
When I run Track Your Vote at http://www.shapethefuture.org, I get “Not returned yet.” Same for my wife’s ballot. I checked again today, Nov 5, two days after the ballots were deposited. Still says “Not returned yet.” Same for my wife’s ballot.
What’s going on?
poole7 // November 5, 2008 at 10:28 am |
Kriselle, Sorry for duplicate post. Feel free to delete one of them.
poole7 // November 5, 2008 at 10:35 am |
I called 650-312-5222, as you suggested. The person looked up our ballots and told me our ballots were valid and were counted today.
I am very impressed by your service. I didn’t have to wait to get my answer on the phone. Good job!
I would suggest you add some info to the Track Your Vote area, to inform people when ballots are likely to be counted — will prevent people worrying, calling unnecessarily, etc..
Thanks!
Kriselle Laran // November 5, 2008 at 12:04 pm |
Hi again,
I’ve forwarded your suggestion to our Communications Director, who can help to clarify the issue on the website. Thanks for bringing this to our attention!