In contrast to the nearly $1.2 million spent by and for the top three candidates in the initial four-month campaign for the coveted downtown council seat, spending for the campaigns of Gabby Chavez-Lopez and Anthony Tordillos has totalled just over $70,000 since the April 8 vote.

The recount of the April 8 Special Election, required by the narrow margin at the close of regular vote tallies, showed Gabby Chavez-Lopez with 2,712 votes, Anthony Tordillos with 2006 votes and Matthew Quevedo with 2000 votes.

A one-day recount will begin on April 24, with certification of the final two candidates to be announced on April 28.

In the April 10 5pm update, the county Registrar of Voters reported Gabby Chavez-Lopez had widened her lead as vote-counting neared its final total in race dominated the PAC spending.

Here are the District 3 leaders after the last Election Day vote count:
Gabby Chavez-Lopez 2,087
Matthew Quevedo  1,592
Anthony Tordillos 1,433
Irene Smith 1,186

PACs allow Big Labor, Big Oil, developers and a billionaire to bypass city contribution limits.

Starting Saturday, March 29, two Vote Centers will be open daily from 9am to 5pm through April 7 at the Joyce Ellington Branch Library Community Room and the Olinder Community Center Community Room.

Those who miss the deadline can still participate in the San Jose City Council District 3 election, but they must register in-person and vote on the same day at the Registrar of Voters’ Office, 1555 Berger Drive, Building 2, or at any vote center starting March 29.

California Secretary of State reports final, unofficial results for all races, to be certified Dec. 13.

In Gilroy, first-term Mayor Marie Blankley fell farther behind Greg Bozzo Wednesday as ballot-counting headed to the final days.

Two newcomers, Margaret Abe-Koga and Betty Duong, win county supervisor races. In the Gilroy mayoral race, Greg Bozzo moves farther ahead of incumbent Marie Blankley.

Nine of the 16 races that will determine which party controls the House of Representatives are in California. No state takes longer to tally votes.

The county Registrar of Voters office reported 419,345 mail ballots counted as of Nov. 3

The more than 1 million registered voters in Santa Clara County are voting by mail at the pace of about 20,000 per day. The 26 voting centers open this weekend for in-person voting, with 13 days until the polls close.

The counting process exploded into a controversy involving political action committees, campaign surrogates, the Federal Election Commission, members of Congress and the counting of previously discarded ballots.

April 2 Update: City, county, state ballots set for November