Hurtado still in front after final ballot drop

Dec. 8—As final ballots are handed in and the last elections offices prepare for certification, Melissa Hurtado holds a slim lead in the race for the 16th Senate District.

As of 1:08 p.m. Thursday, Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, is still in first with 68,449 votes; David Shepard, R-Porterville, currently has 68,425 votes.

Since the votes still need to be certified by the California Secretary of State, no victor has been named. Neither candidate was sent to Sacramento on Monday, when the newly elected were sworn-in and the Legislature convened.

Kern County was the last of four counties in the state Senate race to submit its unprocessed ballots. Kern's last update was made at 6:18 p.m. Wednesday. It and Fresno County still await certification, which is required by the end of Thursday.

That said, according to Kern County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Mary Bedard, the latest results are final.

Despite past estimates of 100 unprocessed votes, Bedard said the ballot total in Kern County increased by 495.

"We have received a lot of cure letters from voters since last Friday when we estimated 100 remaining ballots," Bedard said. "With voters curing their signature issues, their ballots then became eligible to be counted."

The process of "curing" a vote is when any ballot previously uncounted, which can arise from a number of problems at the polls, can become counted if it is properly verified and tabulated by election workers.

"It really relates to vote-by-mail," Bedard said. "If the voter doesn't sign the envelope or the signature does not appear to match the signature we have on file, that ballot is challenged. We then send the voter a letter, with a form they can sign and return to us. If the signature on the form matches the signature we have on file, that cures the challenge and we can count their ballot."

James Kus, county clerk and registrar of voters for Fresno County, said certified results were to be posted Thursday night. Despite rumors that his county would seek a recount, Kus said his office has no intention of doing a recount.

"Any citizen is allowed to request a recount once a (vote) count is certified," Kus said. "We've received some questions from the public but so far nothing official. We will not do a recount unless a member of the public requests it."

Before the latest update Wednesday evening, Hurtado was ahead by a dozen ballots in a state Senate race that gained national attention, and has become one of the closest races in state history.

Hurtado won her first term in 2018 for District 14 with 56 percent of the vote, which incorporated much of Fresno County. Due to 2021 redistricting, Hurtado jumped to SD 16th to avoid facing off against a fellow Democratic candidate.

Shepard, R-Porterville, outshined Hurtado in Kings and Tulare counties — areas traditionally with Republican majorities. He led the vote during most of the month-long counting.

A representative from the Hurtado campaign said they will wait until final certification before commenting on the results. Representatives from the Shepard campaign did not respond to requests for comment.

In other closely watched races:

—For Kern Community College District Seat 3, Nan Gomez-Hetizeberg has broken away with 9,928 votes, or about 53 percent of the vote. Challenger John Antonaros has 8,869, or about 47 percent.

—Jeff Flores is the next Kern County supervisor, for the Third District, after defeating Brian Smith with 52.49 percent of the vote last month. Smith, a retired California Highway Patrol assistant chief, conceded to Flores.

—In Bakersfield City Council races, the two contested wards now have their projected winners. Ken Weir is the likely winner of Ward Three with 48.76 percent of the vote, compared to Boyd Binninger, who has 36.1 percent.

Manpreet Kaur declared victory on Dec. 1 after commanding a lead in the Ward 7 race since the first round of election results came out a month ago. Once confirmed, she will become the first Sikh Punjabi woman elected to the Bakersfield City Council.

Two weeks after his defeat to Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, former state Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, put in his papers with the Federal Elections Commission for a 2024 rematch.

"Rudy has filed the proper paperwork to keep his options open for a 2024 run with the FEC," said Abby Olmstead, Salas' campaign manager, in an email Thursday.

Valadao was declared victor of the 22nd congressional district last week with 51.5 percent of the vote, despite registration odds that favored Salas.

Salas' last day in office as an assemblyman was Sunday. He has not announced other plans.

"Rudy is keeping his options open," Olmstead said. "For now, he's enjoying spending time with his family over the holidays."