November 05, 2009
Votes Still Being Counted From Election
The Imperial County Registrar of Voter's has not completed the counting of ballots from Tuesday's election, leaving open the possibility that the results of at least one race may change.
In the El Centro City Council race, Ben Solomon and Cheryl Viegas-Walker led after votes were counted on election night. Viegas-Walker got 33 percent with 1,343 votes and Solomon received 35 percent of the vote with 1,435. Challenger Jason Jackson just missed unseating one of the incumbents. He took 30 percent of the vote with 1,237 ballots cast.
Jackson would have to win about 45 percent of the remaining ballots to gain a seat on the council. That would be a 15 percent improvement over his showing on election night.But there are still over 950 ballots remaining to be counted. As in every election, some ballots cannot be processed by a vote tabulating machine, and must be counted by hand. There are also some ballots received by mail that must still be counted.
The additional votes may impact the El Centro City Council race, but given the results so far, that appears unlikely. The three candidates essentially split the vote evenly in thirds. For Jackson to win, he would have to make up 107 votes. Most likely, not all of the uncounted ballots are from City of El Centro voters.
As a result, Jackson would have to win about 45 percent of the remaining ballots to gain a seat on the council. That would be a 15 percent improvement over his showing on election night.
The Registrar of Voters has 28 days to submit a final tally to be certified. A clerk at the Registrar's office said updated results could be available in about ten days.
For a complete look at the Nov. 3 election at the Imperial County Registrar of Voter's Web site, click HERE.
In the El Centro City Council race, Ben Solomon and Cheryl Viegas-Walker led after votes were counted on election night. Viegas-Walker got 33 percent with 1,343 votes and Solomon received 35 percent of the vote with 1,435. Challenger Jason Jackson just missed unseating one of the incumbents. He took 30 percent of the vote with 1,237 ballots cast.
Jackson would have to win about 45 percent of the remaining ballots to gain a seat on the council. That would be a 15 percent improvement over his showing on election night.But there are still over 950 ballots remaining to be counted. As in every election, some ballots cannot be processed by a vote tabulating machine, and must be counted by hand. There are also some ballots received by mail that must still be counted.
The additional votes may impact the El Centro City Council race, but given the results so far, that appears unlikely. The three candidates essentially split the vote evenly in thirds. For Jackson to win, he would have to make up 107 votes. Most likely, not all of the uncounted ballots are from City of El Centro voters.
As a result, Jackson would have to win about 45 percent of the remaining ballots to gain a seat on the council. That would be a 15 percent improvement over his showing on election night.
The Registrar of Voters has 28 days to submit a final tally to be certified. A clerk at the Registrar's office said updated results could be available in about ten days.
For a complete look at the Nov. 3 election at the Imperial County Registrar of Voter's Web site, click HERE.