Turnout was low, as predicted, for Tuesday’s Presidential Primary Election. At 11:52 p.m., the Alameda County Registrar of Voters (ROV) released the Unofficial Final Results, with 78,381 ballots counted, or 8.34% of the 939,274 registered voters in the county. If we take the number of ballots counted for Measure E, the only contest on the ballot specifically for the city of Alameda, the ROV lists 6,066 counted so far, or 11.86% of the 51,140 who are registered to vote. These results are still preliminary, and the ROV will release additional data in the coming days before certifying the results.
Preliminary city and county primary election results
Two county measures were on the March 5 ballot: Measure A, which decreases the notification period for civil service examinations, and Measure B, which would amend the County Charter to update recall language. Both measures are currently favored by voters, with Yes votes on Measure A at 56.57% and Yes votes on Measure B at 62.34%. Both require 50% +1 of ballots to pass.
Alameda Unified School District’s Measure E, which repackages and extends local parcel taxes for the schools, requires at least two-thirds of the vote to be approved and currently has the support of 69.85% of Alameda voters.
The Democratic Central Committee race will choose 10 members to serve for the next four years. Although most of the candidates ran on slates outlining their positions, voters chose individuals rather than slates. Currently the top 10 vote-getters include Loren Taylor, Pamela Price, Austin Tam, Mayra Alvarado, Tracy Jensen, Stewart Chen, Warren Logan, Laura Leigh Geist, Rowena Brown, and Andrea Luna Bocanegra. Price, Tam, and Bocanegra are current members of the committee.
In other Alameda County races, Terry Wiley ran unopposed for Alameda County Judge of the Superior Court, Office 5, and Mark Fickes holds a 13-point lead over Michael P. Johnson for Alameda County Judge of the Superior Court, Office 12. For Alameda County Board of Education Governing Board Member, Trustee Area 2, Angela Normand has a commanding 47-point lead over John Lewis among votes counted so far.
Preliminary state and federal primary election results
Incumbent Democrat Mia Bonta will again face a Republican challenger for her District 18 State Assembly seat in November. She cruised to an easy victory, with 78.84% of votes counted, while the three runners-up each have received less than eight percent of the vote. Mindy Pechenuk holds a slight lead over Cheyenne Kenney, and both lead André Sandford.
Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguín holds a comfortable lead in the State Senate Race for District 7 at 31.2%, with Oakland Councilmember Dan Kalb trailing at 17% of votes counted. Both are Democrats. The remaining four candidates are within a couple points of each other.
The race to replace Barbara Lee in Congress for California District 12 is being dominated by BART Director Lateefah Simon, who, with 43.4% of the ballots counted, has almost triple the votes of her nearest challenger, Dr. Jennifer Tran, who has 17% of the vote. Alameda’s Vice-Mayor, Tony Daysog, was close behind with 14.1% of the votes counted. He issued a statement saying, “what Congressmember Barbara Lee said last night bears repeating as it is applicable to my situation: ‘Part of the process is allowing the time for every ballot cast—every voice—to be counted.’” All three represent the Democratic party.
As widely predicted, the race to replace Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate was won by Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey, a former baseball player. Both will face off in November’s General Election. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump dominated their respective primary contests for the fall Presidential Election. That election will be held November 5, 2024.
Stay with the Alameda Post as we continue to follow the election results and post updates when races are called.
Adam Gillitt is the Publisher of the Alameda Post. Reach him at [email protected]. His writing is collected at AlamedaPost.com/Adam-Gillitt.
