Santa Clara County’s Still Finalizing Primary Vote Tallies

The rapid spread of the coronavirus has dominated the news cycle over the last few weeks, pushing thoughts of Super Tuesday into distant memories. But at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, bureaucrats are still working on tallying up the more than 493,000 ballots cast in the March 3 primary, which brought a 51 percent turnout.

In the race to replace state Sen. Jim Beall, with 99 percent of ballots accounted for, county supe Dave Cortese and ex-FEC chair Ann Ravel won tickets to the runoff, topping a crowded field that included San Jose Councilman Johnny Khamis and former assemblywoman Nora Campos.

In the 25th Assembly District contest, former Ohlone Community College District trustee and lone Republican contender Bob Brunton pulled off an upset over a crowded field as the eight Democratic contenders split the blue vote. But policy aide Alex Lee was able to edge out attorney Anne Kepner for a spot in the general.

In San Jose, a lucky few had enough votes to automatically nab their seats on the city council. District 2 Councilman Sergio Jimenez and District 8 Councilwoman Sylvia Arenas both sailed to re-election, while ex-Brigade CEO Matt Mahan dominated in his race with 58 percent of the vote to win the open District 10 seat.

Incumbents Lan Diep and Dev Davis, however, will face battles on the way to Nov. 3. In D4, Diep will square off with Berryessa School Board trustee David Cohen, who eked out approximately 600 more votes than the current councilman. Davis will joust with former Peace Corps volunteer Jake Tonkel for her District 6 seat, which she narrowly missed out on winning outright by less than two percent of the vote.

On the county stage, Assemblyman Kansen Chu will go toe-to-toe with ex-Sunnyvale Mayor Otto Lee for Cortese’s old seat. The pair beat out both East San Jose Councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco and ex-San Jose Planning Commissioner John Leyba in the heavyweight contest.

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11 Comments

  1. Obiden Bama 2020!

    Sorry Bernie, take your marbles back to Vermont, the cool kids don’t want you hangin around.

    • During the crisis, everyone needs to stay put as ordered, especially Trump, Newsom, Feinstein and Harris. It’s time for Biden to drop out now. That’s how Democratic elections are conducted in our 21st century. Even Bernie dropped out in 2016 and yielded to Trump. Having masses of vectors who might be positive at centralized locations during the November flu season and handling ballots or machines is a prescription for murdering a million grandmothers.

      • The DEMs are way ahead of you. They conceded to Trump on Super Tuesday. Biden is already self isolating in his plantation and Bernie in at his “Summer Camp”

  2. Still finding ballots floating in the bay and in the trunks of rental cars at the airport?
    Don’t forget to look under the overpass on 101 and 13th street, and along Mayberry all the way too BART, is that running yet?

  3. I guess I am one of those “cool kids.” Bernie stop your dream deal and communist fantasy. You are not a democrat and democratic voters won’t let you take over our party. Your communist ideologies are way more detrimental to this country and this world! than COVID-19. You were in 2016 and you are in 2020 the Democratic Party spoiler! You can take all your communist supporters with you and form your own communist party!

    • > You are not a democrat and democratic voters won’t let you take over our party.

      “our party”?

      YOUR party was pretty damn disgusting during the government rescue package negotiation.

      Green New Deal? Relief for farting cows? Elimination of jet travel, airlines, AND airline jobs?

      Bailout money for the Kennedy Center?

      “Money for Picassos, over money for people”?

      How is that part of the “coronavirus” crisis?

      What Pelosi and Schumer attempted was the textbook definition of “looting”. They were trying to grab anything valuable they could get their hands on in the chaos of a crisis.

      Don’t lecture us about “corruption” any more.

        • A Democrat looter checks in.

          Tell us about your haul, FCORONA. Did you score a nice big screen TV or some bling? How about some of that spenisive liquor that the rich white people in Washington drink at Democrat fundraisers.

  4. SCC Registrar of Voters holds onto its title as the slowest big city Registrar in America. They keep running out of fingers and toes to count the votes on.

  5. The new voting procedures were a fiasco statewide. Look at LA. Being able to register to vote at the (each) ballot box is incomprehensible.

  6. We look like a third world country. How many votes were cast? Why does it take so long? The pandemic stay at home was announced nearly two weeks after the election.

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