Alamedans woke up to the news that Donald Trump has been elected to a second term as President, but not by Californians. In tallies for the state, he received only 40.1% of the vote compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 57.3%. However, he managed to win many of the swing states and has earned enough delegates to take office in January 2025, ushering in a new era of uncertainty and fear for those who do not support him.
Locally, the Alameda County Registrar of Voters (ACROV) surprised many by issuing Unofficial Final Results at 1:03 a.m. Wednesday. According to a statement made by Alameda County’s Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis to KQED, “We are expecting to reach around 80% turnout for this election.” ROV statistics list 962,143 registered voters in Alameda County; these first unofficial results only include votes cast by 233,629 voters, less than 25% of those registered. Standings in races that have not been called are subject to change before the election is certified. Stay with the Alameda Post for updates and visit our election page for candidate information and other election news.
Dawna Dowdell-Dos Santos, an Alameda resident and longtime election worker for the ACROV, told the Alameda Post that voting day at her station on Central Avenue was busy all day Tuesday. “We were slammed all day… We had some amazing voters turn out today. Everybody was patient.”
Local results
Alameda’s City Council race shows the power of union and Democratic endorsements, and the influence of outside donors. Michele Pryor, who was endorsed by the Alameda Labor Council AFL-CIO, the National Union of Healthcare Workers, IAFF Local 689, the City of Alameda Democratic Club (CADC), and the Alameda County Central Committee (ACCC), and Greg Boller, endorsed by the Alameda Police Officers Association, the Deputy Sheriff’s Association of Alameda County, IAFF Local 689, ACCC, Teamsters, and other labor unions are currently the top two vote-getters.
Incumbent Trish Herrera Spencer, targeted by the largest spending on a negative campaign seen since 2010’s Council election mailers funded by SunCal, is holding in third place. The top two vote-getters will be seated. Only about 250 to 300 votes separate the top three candidates at this time. Thushan Amarasiriwardena trails them by more than 1000 votes, and Steven Slauson holds last place.
For the Alameda Unified School District Board, the last-minute recruitment of Meleah Hall to challenge Joyce Boyd appears to have been successful. Incumbents Heather Little and Jennifer Williams lead the race, with Hall in third place by about 300 votes. Boyd is trailing considerably behind the other three, who are likely to be seated on the School Board.
Special districts
Three special district races were on Alameda’s ballot on Tuesday. Previously, Alameda was covered by BART’s District 4 Director, Robert Rayburn. But with the 2022 redistricting, Alameda now falls in District 7. That seat is currently held by Lateefah Simon, who is leading in the race to replace Barbara Lee in the U.S. Congress. In the race to replace Simon, Victor Flores currently has the majority of votes over Dana Lang.
For East Bay Municipal Utilities District, Ward 5, former Alameda City Councilmember Jim Oddie is ahead of John E. Lewis and Alex Spehr. Oddie was endorsed for the seat by outgoing Director Doug Linney. And in a four-way race to be the next Director for Ward 4 of the East Bay Regional Park District, Luana España appears likely to be the winner, currently having received more than double the votes of each of the other three candidates—Taryn Edwards, Susan Gonzales, and Tim McMahon.
Regional and State races
The races for U.S. Senate (unexpired and general) were called early for Democrat Adam Schiff, who will take office immediately to replace Laphonza Butler, who was appointed temporarily when Dianne Feinstein died in office last year. And the race for California State Assembly, District 18, has been called, with incumbent Mia Bonta (D) easily besting challenger Andre Sanford (AIP). The vote to recall embattled Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, looks sure to pass, which will require a new DA to be appointed by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
BART Director Lateefah Simon and Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín, both Democrats, have commanding leads in their respective races for U.S. House of Representatives District 12 and California State Senate District 7, each leading their Democratic challengers by 20% of votes tallied.
California ballot measures
Several ballot measure races have already been called, including the approval of Measures 3, 4, 35, and 36, and rejection of Measure 33. The table below shows the status of all the measures.
| Measure | Yes | No | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 56.9% | 43.1% | Public Education Bonds |
| 3 | 61.0% | 39.0% | Right to Marry |
| 4 | 57.9% | 42.1% | Natural Resources Bonds |
| 5 | 43.7% | 56.3% | Lower Bond Approval Threshold |
| 6 | 45.1% | 54.9% | Remove Slavery Exception |
| 32 | 48.0% | 52.0% | Raise Minimum Wage |
| 33 | 38.4% | 61.6% | Expand Rent Control |
| 34 | 51.5% | 48.5% | Restrict Spending by Healthcare Provider |
| 35 | 66.8% | 33.2% | Permanently Fund Medi-Cal |
| 36 | 70.4% | 29.6% | Increase Sentences for Drug & Theft Crimes |
| Called races highlighted. Updated Nov. 6, 2024, 9:50 a.m. | |||
Again, standings in races that have not been called are subject to change until the election is certified. Stay with the Alameda Post for further election returns and visit our election page for candidate information and other election news.
Adam Gillitt is the Publisher of the Alameda Post. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt.
