Live election updates: Polling closed. Early results posted in Fresno County races
It’s election day.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. across the Fresno County and Central Valley. Eligible voters have the chance to pick the next president of the United States and vote on U.S. senators and representatives. They can also make their voices heard on a number of California ballot propositions and local races, including two Fresno County Supervisor seats.
Voting centers are open across the state until 8 p.m. Tuesday, according to the California Secretary of State website. Voters who arrive after the polls close at 8 p.m. cannot cast a ballot, but folks already in line have the right to vote, California’s Voter Bill of Rights states.
We will update this story throughout the day to bring you the latest on polling places and early results after polls close.
Update: 8:33 p.m. Tuesday
POLLS CLOSED. EARLY RESULTS SHOW CLOSE RACES, BIG LEADS
Polls have officially closed in Fresno County, though lines remained after 8 p.m. at several polling centers, including at the Woodward Park Library.
Early and mail-in votes are now being reported on the Fresno County website and show a gamut of results, from big leads to close margins.
Former President Donald Trump was the slight favorite among early votes out of Fresno County, opening with 50.01% of votes (73,702). Vice President Kamala Harris had 47.79% of the early Fresno County votes (70,27).
Another Republican Steve Garvey was the early favorite for Fresno County, but also by a slim margin. Garvey opened with 52.82 % of the votes (73,905), just ahead of Adam B. Schiff with 47.18 % (66,007 votes).
The race was eventually called for Schiff. AP reported that he received 59.8% of the statewide vote.
There also were quite a few close races at the local level, including Esmeralda Soria (Dem.) over Joanna Garcia Rose (Rep.) for the 27th Assembly.
Soria had 54.7% (8,682 votes) to Rose’s 45.83% (7,346).
In the race for Fresno City Council District 6, Roger S. Bonakdar had 50.81% of the vote with Nick Richardson close behind at 49.03%.
Among those with significant leads were: Joaquin Arambula at 60.91% for the 31st Assembly; Jim Costa at 57.07% for the 21st Congress, David Tangipa at 58.07% for the 8th Assembly and Garry Bredefeld at 56.96% for District 2 Fresno County Supervisor.
In the big school bonds looking to be passed, Fresno Unified’s bond opened with a 59.53% vote and needs to remain at least 55% to pass.
Clovis Unified’s Measure A also needs at least 55% to pass but opened at 54.72% on Yes votes.
Update: 8 p.m. Tuesday
LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTACTED ‘A COUPLE OF TIMES’ AT POLLING CENTERS
Police were dispatched to the voting center at the Hotel Piccadilly on Shaw Avenue around 5:30 p.m. for an incident of line cutting, but no arrests were made.
Law enforcement was contacted “a couple of times,” for incidents at voting centers on Tuesday, according to Fresno County Registrar of Voters James Kus. He couldn’t say what, if any actions were taken. “I can’t comment beyond that,” Kus said.
Messages to the Fresno Police Department about other possible incidents were not immediately returned. Neither the Clovis Police Department of Fresno Sheriff’s Office had received any calls for service at voting centers.
— Joshua Tehee
Update: 5 p.m Tuesday
DRIVE-THRU VOTING, THE QUICK, EASY OPTION AS LINES GROW
Voting centers are officially busy in Fresno County, with lines reported at just about all of the county’s 53 voting centers just before 4 p.m. “There are some good sized lines at some of those vote centers,” said county Registrar of Voters James Kus.
The lines are not going to get shorter as election day enters into its busiest hours, between 4 and 6 p.m.
Reminder: in-person voters need to be in line by 8 p.m. when the polls close.
“Drop boxes are wonderful place to go right now,” Kus said.
Reminder: Boxes will be locked at 8 p.m. and pick up will begin at those locations.
One of the fastest ways to cast your vote is via the drive-thru ballot drop off in front of the Fresno County Elections Division office on Kern Street in downtown Fresno. A steady stream of cars has been passing through all day, Kus said, and nearly 3,200 ballots have been dropped off so far. He believes that could be a record for drive-thru voting and that number could be as high as 4,000 by the time polls close.
— Joshua Tehee
Update: 4:45 p.m Tuesday
NEARLY ONE-THIRD OF FRESNO COUNTY VOTER CAST EARLY BALLOTS
Fresno County voters cast almost 166,000 vote-by-ballots even before Election Day, mailing in their ballots or dropping off their envelopes at drop boxes throughout the county.
As of Monday, the number of ballots received by the Fresno County Elections Division amounted to more than 32% of the county’s registered voters, with thousands more expected to show up at in-person voting centers on Tuesday.
Fresno County has 514,799 registered voters.
— Tim Sheehan
Update: 4:30 p.m Tuesday
SOCIAL MEDIA BRAWL BREAKS OUT OVER MEASURE T IN MADERA COUNTY
A Facebook post by Madera County voters who strongly oppose the renewal effort for Measure T drew the attention of county supervisors (again). A back-and-forth — much of it about facts — ensued.
Measure T is a 0.5% sales tax that generates funding for transportation projects, such as road work and public transit services. This tax has been around in one form or another for 30 years, but the current version is set to expire in 2027. Madera County is rated as having some of the worst roads in the state, so losing Measure T could be devastating for the county — both sides agree.
But vocal opponents, many of them residents of Madera County’s mountain communities, say county staff changed language in the renewal proposal that had been drafted with the participation of citizen steering committees.
“NO on T... It is a flawed measure,” the resident group Sierra Citizens for Sensible Government wrote on Facebook on Monday. “We have 2 more years. Let’s get it right in 2026.”
District 1 Madera County Supervisor Jordan Wamhoff jumped into the comment section, calling on the group to admit that there is no convincing it to support Measure T.
“Just be honest and say you won’t be for it in 2026 either,” Wamhoff wrote to Sierra Citizens. “It is a local, earmarked, sunsetting tax renewal, and is vital to road maintenance on our county roads. The new expenditure plan that was drafted makes it so road maintenance is a priority. Yes on T!”
The version of Measure T in effect right now was approved by voters in 2006 and expires in 2027. A renewal attempt two years ago received 52% of the vote, but it required a super-majority approval (66% of the vote). Critics of that renewal proposal had concerns over transparency and rejected its attempt to make Measure T a permanent tax.
This year, as the draft of the renewal proposal made its way through local government, a group of county citizens gathered enough signatures to launch the proposal as a citizen initiative. That means it will only require a simple majority (more than 50% of the vote) to pass this time. The citizen initiative is almost identical to the one that was drafted as a government initiative, which was created after several months of work with citizens steering committees consisting of members from across the county.
The proposal document says Measure T is expected to generate $22 million annually for a total of $440 million in the next 20 years. Here is the proposal’s investment plan for the anticipated revenue:
▪ Local streets and Roads: 80%, or $352 million, with 10% set aside for disadvantaged communities.
▪ Regional projects: 14.5%, or $63.8 million.
▪ Transit: 4%, or $17.6 million
▪ Administrative expense cap: 1.5%, or $6.6 million
Mark Reed, who served on one of the steering committees during the proposal’s creation but is opposing the measure, commented on the post that county “staff and the (renewal effort) consultant changed the definition of local roads to include regional, arterial, collectors to be included in this definition of local roads.”
“The Citizens Steering Committee also did not write the ordinance nor did we write the ballot language,” Reed wrote on Facebook. “Simply vote No and send a strong unified message to the Board of Supervisors to get it right.”
Kendall Flint, the consultant Reed was referring to, also dropped into the Facebook post to respond.
“Another lie,” she wrote to Reed. “Staff did not change a (word) and you went through these definitions line by line. “
Each claimed to have recordings that show what truly happened.
— Eric Galicia
This story was originally published November 5, 2024 at 4:33 PM.
