Assistant County Assessor Neysa Fligor declared victory over former Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar early on Dec. 31, after an initial margin of more than 50,000 votes.

Neysa Fligor's 52,000-vote margin could prove insurmountable, likely exceeding the total number of votes that remain to be counted in a low-turnout race.

The likelihood that four of every five eligible voters won’t vote for Santa Clara County assessor candidates Neysa Fligor or Rishi Kumar heightens the anxiety and uncertainty of the two campaigns about today’s runoff vote.

Candidates Neysa Fligor and Rishi Kumar have to contend with potential voters distracted by the holidays, nearly empty campaign coffers and the absence of turnout-boosting state redistricting and county sales tax ballot initiatives.

As of Nov. 10, there remained just 7,000 ballots to be counted in the race for Santa Clara County Assessor, out of more than 460,000 votes.

The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters reported at 10:50pm Nov. 4 that Fligor, who also is vice mayor of Los Altos, was more than 43,000 votes ahead of Rishi Kumar, a former Saratoga City Council member and former candidate for Congress.

For Gabby Chavez-Lopez to make up the initial 2,036-vote ballot deficit, she would have needed to get nearly 85% of the estimated 3,000 uncounted District 3 ballots.

Gabby Chavez-Lopez led Anthony Tordillos by 706 votes in the special election, but won just 30% of the overall 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.

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.

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.

Seven candidates qualified as candidates for the April special election. The council had decided that no person could seek election to the coveted downtown council seat if they also sought appointment to the interim seat.

If no candidate receives a majority on April 8, the top two candidates will run against each other in a special runoff election on June 24. The winner will serve the remainder of the term through 2026.

The City Council today formally approved the dates for both appointing and electing a replacement for the disgraced former first-term council member, Omar Torres.

The City Council had the option of appointing a replacement for Omar Torres to serve out his full term until the 2026 elections, or to appoint an interim replacement in District 3 pending outcome of a special election in April for the remainder of the term.