Election Day arrives in Fresno. Your last-minute guide to key races and how to vote
Election Day is Tuesday for primary voting in a slew of local races across Fresno County and the central San Joaquin Valley, as well as a host of state officeholders and Congress.
But if some of the contests are close, don’t expect to know who the winners are until days after the election.
Fresno County has almost half a million registered voters, and is one of more than 20 Voters Choice Act counties in California in which every registered voter gets a vote-by-mail ballot about a month before Election Day, said James Kus, the county clerk and registrar of voters. They can fill out their ballot and mail it back through the U.S. Post Office, drop it off at one of almost 70 official drop-box locations scattered throughout the county, or they can vote the “old-fashioned” way, in person at one of 52 vote centers. Voters can also deliver their filled-out ballots at a vote center.
The emphasis on mail-in ballots, which must be postmarked on or before Election Day, means that an unknown number of ballots will remain to be counted even after election night, Kus said. Based on recent history, that could be about 40% of ballots.
On Tuesday, voters should be prepared for several periods of the day when vote centers will be at their busiest and lines can be expected, Kus said. “There will be a morning rush; there’s usually some kind of rush in the afternoon around lunchtime; and there’s always a rush at the close of work, so that kind of 5 p.m. period,” he said.
No matter the lines, however, Kus added that any voter in line at a vote center by the time polls officially close at 8 p.m. Tuesday will be allowed to vote or deliver their ballot. People who enter the line after 8 p.m., however, will be turned away by election workers, Kus said. Votes not postmarked by June 7 won’t be counted; nor will votes received by mail after June 14.
Through Monday morning, almost 70,000 ballots had been received by the elections division through the mail or drop boxes.
Here are key pieces of information about Tuesday’s primary election:
How to vote
All voters who already are registered to vote should have received a ballot in the mail. Voters can return their ballot in the envelope provided to a ballot drop box, which are installed in a number of convenient places throughout the county. The Fresno County Registrar of Voters provides a map of drop box locations on its website.
Voters also can return their ballots by mail in the envelope provided. The postage for that envelope is prepaid, so you won’t need a stamp.
Voters need to remember to sign the ballot envelope (not the ballot itself) before dropping it in the mail or in a voting drop box.
There will be in-person vote centers open for voters who need assistance, want to vote on an accessible tablet, need to obtain a replacement ballot, need language assistance, need to register and vote in person, or any other reason, according to information on the Fresno County Registrar of Voters website. Before Election Day, the vote centers are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; on Tuesday, the hours of operation will be 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The last official day to register to vote was May 23. Anyone registering to vote on Election Day may fill out a conditional registration form and a provisional ballot at either the County Clerk’s office at 2221 Kern St. in downtown Fresno, or at one of the vote centers.
What’s on the ballot?
California’s state constitutional offices including governor, secretary of state, attorney general and others are on Tuesday’s primary ballot. The top two vote-getters in each of the primary races will face off in the November general election.
Other primary contests are for representatives to Congress and the U.S Senate, and for the state Assembly and Senate. As with the statewide offices, the two top vote-getters will meet in November. Two exceptions are in the 8th and 32nd Assembly district. Assembly Member Jim Patterson is unopposed in the 8th District contest, while Assembly Member Vince Fong is uncontested in the 32nd District. Also to be determined in this election: who finishes Devin Nunes’ term in Congress, Republican Connie Conway or Democrat Lourin Hubbard.
There are plenty of races in Fresno County and neighboring counties as well in which the primary election will decide the two finalists from which voters may choose in November. But unlike the state or legislative races, if a candidate manages to win a majority of the votes in this round — at least 50% plus one vote — they will win outright without a November runoff.
The Fresno County Sheriff’s race is one of those two-candidate contests, in which Assistant Sheriff John Zanoni and Fresno Deputy Police Chief Mark Salazar are vying to replace retiring Sheriff Margaret Mims.
Another two-candidate contest is in Fresno City Council District 5, in which incumbent Luis Chavez is being challenged by Brandon Vang.
There are four candidates running to succeed termed-out Councilmember Esmeralda Soria in Fresno City Council District 1. They are former City Council member and former state Assembly member Mike Briggs; public relations professional Cary Catalano; Annalisa Perea, currently a member of the State Center Community College District board of trustees; and Jeremy Preis, an insurance professional. Unless one candidate wins a majority, the two top vote-getters will meet in November.
In Fresno City Council District 3, incumbent Miguel Arias has two challengers, engineer/contractor Larry Burrus and former Libertarian candidate for governor Nickolas Wildstar.
Fresno City Council District 7 includes a field of three candidates: incumbent Nelson Esparza; parent Jason Jesada Keomanee; and youth minister Courtney Westfall.
As with District 1, the District 3 and District 7 seats will only go to a November runoff if no candidate succeeds in gaining at least half of the votes cast in the primary.
Four candidates are running in a race for Fresno County Superintendent of Schools to replace retiring superintendent Jim Yovino. They are Michele Cantwell-Copher, Eliseo V. Gamino and Daren A. Miller.
Fresno County voters will also decide the fate of Measure Z, an extension of a 0.1% sales tax that supports the Fresno Chaffee Zoo. The measure requires a two-thirds majority vote, or 66.7% “yes” votes, to pass.
Other counties
Madera County: Three of the five seats on the Madera County Board of Supervisors are up for election, each with three candidates. Races for Sheriff, Assessor and a judgeship are also on the ballot. Election information in Madera County is available online at votemadera.com
Kings County: Two seats on the Kings County Board of Supervisors are being contested; there’s also a race for District Attorney and a half-percent sales tax on the ballot to support fire and emergency services in the county. Kings County elections information is available online at countyofkings.com/departments/administration/elections.
Tulare County: The District 4 seat on the Tulare County Board of Supervisors is up for election. Tulare County election information is online at tularecountyelections.org/elections/.
Merced County: Contested races are those for Merced County District Attorney and county superintendent of schools. Elections information for Merced County is online at countyofmerced.com/3629/Elections.
This story was originally published June 6, 2022 at 2:55 PM.
