Mail-in ballots exceed in-person ballots in Solano County
(Graphic by Solano News Update)
Voters in Solano County cast far more mail-in ballots this election cycle compared to those who cast their ballots in person on Tuesday, according to figures released by county officials.
On Wednesday, officials said they were still in the process of counting tens of thousands of mail-in ballots and around 5,000 provisional ballots cast during the election.
Provisional ballots will take longer to count because they have to be manually processed and entered into the county’s computer system and are subject to verification against voter registration lists, a county official told the Vacaville Reporter newspaper.
As of Wednesday evening, more than 176,000 ballots had been processed and counted by Solano County staff. The county says there were over 258,000 voters who were eligible to cast a ballot in this election.
Voter turnout hovered just below 70 percent, according to figures cited by county election officials, though the number is expected to rise slightly as ballots continue to be processed.
Based on the volume of ballots processed and counted as of Wednesday evening, Solano News Update made the following projections for certain local and county races:
Rep. John Garamendi, Asm. Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, Sen. Bill Dodd and Asm. Jim Frazier all retained their respective legislative seats, defeating local challengers.
In Vacaville, a hotly-contested race for a city council seat in District 3 went to Michael Silva, who beat challenger Amber Robitaille. The news is an upset for local public safety agencies, including the town’s police and firefighters union who backed Robitaille in the race.
Also in Vacaville, Roy Stockton clinched a city council spot in District 1.
Voters in Fairfield and Vacaville approved a marijuana business tax.
Voters in Suisun City approved Measure Q, an initiative that limits the mayor and members of the city council to four terms.
In neighboring Winters, voters overwhelmingly approved Measure A, a growth boundary initiative that limits development within the city and subjects development directly outside the city’s limit to additional levels of scrutiny.
In Dixon, voters approved a measure that repeals water rate changes established early last year.
Some other closely-watched races, including mayoral races in Vallejo and Dixon, were still too close to project a winner as of 6 p.m. Wednesday. Mail-in and provisional ballots that are still being processed and counted will likely determine the winner of those close contests.
The County of Solano has launched an interactive web portal with regularly-updated election results at LiveVoterTurnout.com.
This newsletter is an all-volunteer effort. If you would like to show your appreciation, consider making a donation in any amount or converting your email subscription into a paid one. Discuss this newsletter and other stories from across Solano County on our Facebook group here and follow our new Twitter account here.