Contact: Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
Alternate: Jim Irizarry, Assistant Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder
(Redwood City, CA) Today Mark Church, Chief Elections Officer & Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder for the County of San Mateo, officially certified the election results for the November 3, 2020 Presidential General Election.
“This was truly a historic presidential election for San Mateo County voters. Voter turnout was the highest since 1968 with 85.89% of registered voters casting their ballots in this election,” noted Church.
San Mateo County voter registration reached an all-time high of 442,637 registered voters for this presidential election. Of the 380,193 ballots cast, 347,124 or 91.3% were Vote by Mail ballots, and 33,069 ballots or 8.7% were cast at Vote Centers.
“This was the first Presidential General Election conducted under the California Voter’s Choice Act, and voters appreciated the many voting options available to them,” said Church. “They clearly preferred to vote by mail and use our drop boxes.”
Voters voted early and avoided the Vote Centers compared to the March 3, 2020 Presidential Primary Election on Election Day. In-person voting at Vote Centers dropped from 14% in the Presidential Primary Election to 8.7% in the November election. “Vote Centers were relatively calm on Election Day and were used primarily as ballot drop-off locations and by voters wanting to register to vote,” he added.
“This election was conducted under the extraordinary circumstances of a global pandemic, and just happened to be the largest presidential election ever in the history of San Mateo County in terms of the number of registered voters, the length of the ballot and the number of different ballot styles. Notwithstanding the enormous challenges, the election was a complete success,” concluded Church. “The voters are to be commended for the impressive turnout, together with the outstanding men, women and students who served on the front line of our democracy and made this election possible.”
The results of the election are certified upon completion of the Canvass of the Vote during the 30 days following an election, which includes a One Percent Manual Tally of the votes to confirm the accuracy of the 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 broken down by precinct and major districts. Anyone may review, download, or print a complete copy of the election results at www.smcacre.org.
For more information, call 650.312.5222, visit www.smcacre.org, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram @smcvote.