The Nov. 8 election results were finalized Monday in Stanislaus County, according to Stanislaus County Clerk Recorder and Registrar of Voters Lee Lundrigan, and shows that Measure L, the half-cent sales tax measure for Stanislaus County, passed with greater support of voters than unofficial vote counts indicated.
Initially the Stanislaus County Elections Division reported that Measure L was passing with a 70.58 percent majority. The official count shows L passed with 71.95 percent of the vote and 28.05 percent in opposition. The measure needed 66 percent plus one vote for passage. A total of 121,537 voters supported the measure and 47,372 opposed it.
Measure L enacts a 25-year half-cent sales tax that will raise an estimated $960 million for the county and its nine cities to spend on road maintenance, new road project construction, other transportation infrastructure and improved services for the elderly and disabled.
California law required certification of this election to take on or before Dec. 8, which is 30 days following this Election Day. This was a presidential general election and included all of Stanislaus County voters.
The newest vote tallies show that Hillary Clinton carried Stanislaus County over Donald Trump by a margin of 46.81 percent to 45.01 percent. The initial count had Trump ahead in the county.
A total of 176,992 ballots were cast out of 241,196 voters registered in Stanislaus County, placing voter turnout at 73.38 percent locally, making this the largest percentage of ballots cast and most voters casting ballots in Stanislaus County history. A total of 130,468 ballots were cast by mail in Stanislaus County compared with 46,524 Stanislaus voters going to the polls on Election Day.
An update of results for local candidates is follows:
• Republican incumbent Congressman Jeff Denham held onto his seat by a margin of 51.9 percent, or 120,933 votes, to Eggman's 48.1 percent, or 112,264 votes;
• In the 12th state Assembly race, voters in eastern Stanislaus County (including Hughson and half of Modesto) elected Heath Flora over Ken Vogel to replace Kristin Olsen. Olson could not run due of term limits and decided instead to seek the District 1 seat on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors to take over when Bill O'Brien retires. Flora handily defeated Vogel by 52.3 percent (or 79,420 votes), or Vogel's 47.7 percent (or 72,528 votes).
• State Assemblyman Adam Gray, defeated Republican challenger Greg Opinski in the low-key 21st Assembly District race. Gray received 69.4 percent of the vote, or 79,188 votes, in contrast to Republican Opinski's 30.6 percent, or 34,901 votes.
• Yosemite Community College District Area 7 trustee Tom Hallinan of Ceres lost his seat to farmer Jon Rodriguez by 736 votes. The official count shows Rodriguez winning Hallinan's seat with 51.63 percent of the vote, or 10,352 votes, over Hallinan's 47.96 percent, or 9,616 votes. Hallinan is an attorney who also serves as the Ceres city attorney.
• Voters in Hughson Unified School District passed Measure Q, a $3.2 million bond measure to improve the quality of education, upgrade elementary and middle school classrooms, a new restroom facility at the middle school, install a new field irrigation system at the elementary school and install a security camera system. The measure appears to have passed with greater than the minimum 55 percent majority. In unofficial vote tallies, Measure Q received 60.14 percent of the "yes" vote, or 2,352 votes, and 39.86 percent "no" votes, or 1,559.
• Hughson's Measure R, a $2.2 million bond issuance to install a new air conditioning system in the gym, re-roof the gym, provide an all-weather track install a security camera system, also passed. It, too, needed at least a 55 percent majority for passage. It attracted 60.76 percent support, or 2,936 votes. Opposition was running at 39.24 percent, or 1,896 "no" votes, in the official results.
• California voters overwhelming supported State Attorney General Kamala Harris to replace Barbara Boxer in the U.S. Senate. Harris received 61.7 percent of the vote, or 7,506,116 votes, to defeat Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez who picked up only 38.3 percent of the vote, or 4,666,826 votes.
California voters approved Propositions 51, 52, 54-59, 63, 64, 66 and 67. They turned down 53, 60, 61, 62, and 65.
City Council elections were not held in Ceres or Hughson but city voters in Newman, Patterson, Riverbank, Turlock and Waterford had municipal elections.
In the closet race in the county, 33 votes separated Turlock City Council candidates Steven Nascimento and Amy Bublak, with Bublak ahead with 2,783 votes and Nascimento 33 votes behind at 2,750. A total of 548 Turlock residents either skipped the council race on the ballot.
Over 875 volunteer election officers worked to support the election which included 26 adopt-a-poll volunteer organizations 161 student poll workers and 15 field inspectors.
