Unlike the presidential race, which was called in the early hours of Wednesday morning, many local elections are still too close to call.
San Joaquin County itself has many down-ballot races within a 5% margin as the county still has a large swath of ballots that need to be tallied, according to SJ County Registrar of Voters.
The closest county race is currently between Lathrop Mayor Sonny Dhaliwal and Manteca Mayor Steve DeBrum, who are running to replace Stockton mayoral candidate Tom Patti as the District 3 representative on the SJ County Board of Supervisors, are separated by just 500 as of Wednesday.
California Senate’s 5th District also has a razor-thin margin between the Republican and Democratic candidates running. Former Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-Stockton) leads businessman Jim Shoemaker (R-Clements) by less than half a percentage point. District 5 encompasses all of San Joaquin County and areas of Alameda County.
“We still have a ton, I mean a ton” of ballots left to count, San Joaquin Registrar of Voters Olivia Hale told Stocktonia by phone Wednesday afternoon. Though she said it was too soon to give a more solid estimate of the total still needed to be counted or overall voter turnout.
Roughly 153,000 San Joaquin County ballots have been counted as of noon Wednesday, with fresh results – including in several tight local races – expected to drop Friday, according to county election officials.
According to county election data, about 40% of the county’s 378,000 total registered voters have had their ballots tallied as of early Wednesday afternoon. Across the U.S., turnout in presidential general elections typically hovers around 60%, according to the election reform nonprofit Fair Vote.
“We had a nice big turnout,” Hale said Wednesday. “I think we’re right in line with what a presidential general election looks like.”
Now that much of the dust has settled, here’s an additional recap of notable moments that occurred throughout Election Day:
Polling got off to a rocky start Tuesday morning at the Anunciation School in midtown Stockton.
The person charged with providing poll workers access to the building was late, machines didn’t work right away, and a ballot box was inadvertently locked. One voter went to his truck, brought back a pair of wire cutters and worked the lock off the ballot box so election papers could be scanned and deposited.
Nearly 90 minutes passed before those who waited patiently to cast their ballots in real time had the opportunity to do so and collect their “I Voted” sticker.
Workers likely sealed the box early by mistake, Hale said. “(It) was news to me, and it was concerning … somebody should’ve called and let us know and I could’ve sent county staff out to help.”
Poll workers, who each earn approximately $300 for their day-long service, said they felt the in-person training on the new voting machines lacked the kind of hands-on tutorial needed to execute a flawless opening.
“They went through five hours of training, three hours of videos, where it was like nine modules, and then … they went through a two-hour in person training,” Hale said.
By 9 a.m., however, things were humming along for both those stopping to drop off sealed ballots and those marking theirs at the site.
At around 1 p.m., Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln kicked off his Election Day by heading to Manlio Silva Elementary School in the Spanos-Park area of Stockton surrounded by family to cast his ballot.
Lincoln expressed his pride in voting with his family, describing the moment as a memorable milestone.
“It is always a privilege to vote, but today I am especially blessed to vote alongside my son Kevin as he casts his ballot for the first time,” Lincoln wrote.
As Election Day progressed, the San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters in downtown Stockton became a bustling hub for last-minute voters.
To accommodate the high turnout of voters, the ROV has set up a drive-through lane at its headquarters near North San Joaquin Street and East Weber Avenue for voters to conveniently drop off their ballots on the go.
At one point in the afternoon, the ROV’s office exceeded its occupancy limit Tuesday afternoon, leading officials to call the Stockton Fire Marshal. In response, an overflow room was set up on the building’s first floor.
Voters were then admitted upstairs in small groups of three to the third-floor voting area. The ROV headquarters, located in the San Joaquin County Administration Building, has been the county’s only early in-person voting location.
Downstairs in the overflow line, Victoria Zuniga, a Stockton resident and mother, shared her motivation for voting, emphasizing her desire to contribute to a better future.
“I hope for change in the Stockton youth,” Zuniga said. “I want to see more opportunities for the youth — educational changes, more scholarships for the Stockton community — to help give the children here a chance.”
Danelle Shelton, Owner of BMMAC, a media music and arts coalition, says she felt there was a need to help out this election by enrolling in the county’s Adopt A Poll Program, which allows organizations to host polling locations.
She says that drive to understand how the process works drove her to engage civically.
“It really started because of Leadership Stockton and wanting to just know more about the process,” said Shelton. “Then when I heard that there were adopt a poll available, I was like, I should try to do this.”
Shelton is serving as host of the polling station but also as clerks for election night taking both in person and online training through San Joaquin County Registrar of Voters Office in preparation for the election.
The BMMAC opened its doors to voters at 7 a.m. with the help of several first time volunteers from the community. Shelton says that they are starting to get into the flow of things the more they work the polls.
“We had some disgruntled people you know,” Shelton said. ”After the first thirty minutes we had our flow and we realized how you just got to be nice to everybody, warm, welcoming and we haven’t had any more problems.”
While working at the polls Shelton plans to keep a close eye on the local and national election results saying that she is planning to continue to adopt a poll for future elections.
“I’m excited for the results tonight and to continue being a community space,” Shelton says. “So many people came by. I was shocked “
Stocktonians were rolling on through to the Stockton City Hall ballot drop box this afternoon to make it in before the 8 p.m. deadline. People voters walked quickly from their car to drop off their ballot, with some votes taking selfies.
Senior revenue assistant for the city of Stockton Valentina Jarquin told Stocktonia that she feels a bit apprehensive about this year’s election, noting that there is a lot on the line.
“Apprehensive because of the state of the country right now and the choices that we have for presidency and how I feel the country will go one way or the other depending on who wins,” Jarquin says.
Jarquin says she wants the country to come together, noting political polarization has driven a wedge between people across party lines. Jarquin says she feels the country is going back on women’s issues which she says makes her feel like a 2nd class citizen..
“We are all human beings and have common goals regardless of what party we are,” Jarquin said. “We all need to feel like we are being heard and treated with respect and our rights as women and not second class citizens.”