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Election Day is finally here, and San Mateo County voters have until 8 p.m. to cast ballots in races that will determine seats on the Sequoia Union High School District board and a rent control ordinance in Redwood City.
Voters can return mail-in ballots to any ballot drop box in California by 8 p.m. or vote at one of San Mateo County’s 50 vote centers. Estimated wait times are available online.
Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked today and received by Nov. 10 to count. County officials strongly recommend that voters mailing their ballots ask for a hand-stamped postmark at a post office.
What to expect tonight
The county Elections Office will begin releasing results at 8:10 p.m., starting with its tally of vote-by-mail ballots received by Nov. 1. The next election night release of results will be from ballots cast at vote centers, with hourly updates starting at 9 p.m. and planned until all those ballots are counted.
Visit the RWC Pulse’s homepage for live updates throughout the night. Readers can also sign up for news alerts to receive breaking news by email.
Winners in close races may not be determined for several days because many voters wait until shortly before Election Day to cast their ballots. Starting Nov. 5, the elections office will release results daily from mail-in ballots received after Nov. 1, including those that arrive by the Nov. 10 deadline.
Tracking voter turnout
Voters are returning ballots earlier than they did in 2018, the last time Californians elected a new governor, Assistant Chief Elections Officer Jim Irizarry said.
“There has been a big campaign to encourage voters to vote early for a couple of reasons: To avoid long lines at polling places on Election Day and also to assist the local registrars with processing ballots a little quicker,” Irizarry said. “We are definitely ahead, in terms of people returning their ballots earlier, so the campaign is working in that respect.”
As of Nov. 2, countywide turnout stands at 34.35%. Irizarry said he hopes turnout will exceed 70% once all the ballots are counted.
The citywide turnout in Redwood City is 35.16% as of Nov. 2. City Council District 7 has the highest turnout of the city’s districts.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated with additional information about Redwood City and to clarify the timing of the release of vote center ballots.
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