Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer for the County of San Mateo, officially certified the election results today for the November 6, 2018 Statewide General Election.
“The November 6, 2018 election was the second held under the California Voters’ Choice Act, and the results have been striking. Voters had more days and more ways than ever before to cast their ballot, and they did so in extremely large numbers,” said Church. “Turnout in San Mateo County was the highest since 1982, with voter registration at an all-time high.”
On Election Day there were 399,591 registered voters in San Mateo County. This election saw a turnout of 72.59% of registered voters, more than 8% higher than the statewide average and approximately 26% higher than the last Statewide General Election in 2014. This represents the highest turnout in the state for an urban county which implemented the Voter’s Choice Act.
“This was a massive undertaking for the Elections Division, as the largest Statewide General Election in the history of the county in terms of participating jurisdictions, ballot styles, and candidates,” said Church. “Elections staff worked three shifts around the clock to ensure the election was certified in an accurate, timely manner.”
Approximately 88% of the over 290,000 ballots cast were vote-by-mail ballots, with the remaining 12% cast at Vote Centers. Voters waited to the end of the voting period before voting with approximately 135,000 vote-by-mail ballots received on Election Day and the three days following, as allowed by law.
Also, Vote Centers were heavily utilized on Election Day. Only 19% of the ballots cast at Voter Centers were cast during the 28-day early voting period, while 81% of the ballots cast at Vote Centers were on Election Day.
The Chief Elections Officer officially certifies the results of the election upon completion of the Canvass of the Vote, which is completed during the 30 days following an election. During that time, a One Percent Manual Tally of the votes is conducted to confirm the accuracy of the election results.
The Official Election Results, published in the Statement of the Vote, are posted on the San Mateo County Registration & Elections website, www.smcacre.org. These official election results provide a complete picture of the election with vote totals that are broken down by precinct and the method in which the ballots were cast. The Precinct Report is also available online and lists the ballots cast and turnout on a precinct-by-precinct basis.
Anyone may review, download or print a complete copy of the election results at www.smcacre.org/november-6-2018-election-results.
For more information on the California Voter’s Choice Act and the new All-Mailed Ballot - Vote Center election model, please call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org or follow us on Twitter @smcvote.