Play-by-play of ballots arriving at Elections Office

For most current 2022 General Election results, go to the San Benito County Elections office website.

Election Day voting went well in San Benito County, according to the Assistant County Clerk Francisco Diaz, who said people seemed to be enthusiastic about casting their ballots even through the patches of rain. 

“I will estimate, conservatively, that we will end up getting around 53%-56% of registered voters,” he said, “which is pretty good for us. Everything went smoothly other than ensuring everyone had a safe path to the polling places because of the rain.”

Diaz’s prediction of turnout was very close to the mark: with 37,735 registered voters in the county, just over 53% cast their ballots in this election either by mail or at local voting centers: three in Hollister, at the California National Guard Armory, the Elections Office, and St Benedict’s Church, and one at the Community Center in San Juan Bautista—over 20,000 ballots in all.

But only a portion of those votes—ballots returned from the centers that evening—were counted before midnight. This amounted to 8,520 ballots, representing about 42% of the final total.

Tallying votes on election night involves long periods of inaction followed by small bursts of activity as the ballots arrive to be reviewed and counted. The process that evening took place in the old courthouse at the Elections Center at 440 Fifth Street in Hollister and is open to the public, though the only ones who stuck it out on Nov. 8 were a few reporters waiting for the final count of the evening and the spouse of one of the workers, waiting for her to finish.

The focus in the room at 8 p.m., when the polls closed, was on the first 7,196 ballots counted, which had been turned into the office before Election Day. A few spectators picked up a copy of the initial results, scanned them to see the trends, then left.

The first ballots to arrive from a voting center came in around 9 p.m. from the California National Guard Armory, adding a total of 102 votes. 

A bit of theater is involved with the arrival of the ballots, all intended to show the public that  voting is completely secure in all phases of the election. The sealed boxes are accompanied by at least two poll workers and unsealed by two election office officials in the presence of the people who delivered them. The process is meticulous: even the broken seals are saved in plastic bags as evidence of the system’s security. 

The ballots are split between four people who check them for any irregularities or other issues that would require further hand inspection. Those ballots are displayed on a screen available to spectators, and decisions about each questionable entry are registered. If the person inspecting the ballot cannot reach a decision, a final adjudication is done by San Benito County Clerk, Auditor, Recorder and Registrar of Voters Joe Paul Gonzalez.

The voter’s intent is the most important consideration. For a candidate or measure, if multiple boxes were marked on a ballot, but a clear correction is made, that will be considered valid and registered as a vote. In the case of one person who filled in two bubbles on a proposition vote, writing “this one” next to one of the choices was enough to have that vote count. 

Votes for write-in candidates are also inspected at this stage. The name has to be on a list of approved candidates or will otherwise be rejected. One voter, for example, wrote in Stephaine Castro as their vote for superintendent of public instruction. While Castro is a legitimate candidate for the State Assembly District 29 seat, she was not qualified as superintendent, so that vote was discarded, though the rest of the ballot was counted.

The next ballot drop was from San Juan Bautista around 10:30 p.m., with the ballots from the Elections Office and St. Benedict’s vote centers following quickly behind. 

The San Juan City Council race is a nail biter: three candidates out of the five who receive the most votes will win the office, and the margin is razor-thin: the top and bottom vote-getters, as of the final count on election day, are separated by only 25 votes. 

E.J. Sabathia, who is currently in third place with 186 votes, is understandably nervous about how things will turn out.

“It is exciting and nerve-wracking,” he said. “But I am excited to be in the mix of it. I think it looks pretty good right now and I am curious about how many votes in San Juan are still left to be counted. Turnout looks a little low and I am hoping we can find a way to get more people registered in town and boost participation in the process.” 

The San Juan Bautista count is a textbook example of why every vote matters. 

“I want to remind people that this is San Benito County, and one, two or three votes can make a difference,” Diaz said. “Some of these contests will be won by a small margin. If you think your vote does not count, I am here to tell you that is not the case.”

Currently, there are 12,431 ballots left to be processed, and qualified ballots may continue to appear for seven days after election day. With over 55% of the votes still to be counted, the tighter races are still anyone’s to win or lose. Final election results will be released on Nov. 15.

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