Update, March 22, 4:44 p.m.:
While not all counties are finished tabulating votes, local and state races are all but finalized.
There are just a handful of ballots left to count in Santa Cruz County, including 100 same-day registration and 50 provisional ballots, and Monterey County is done with its count. The former county had an above-average voter turnout, with over 46% of registered voters showing up to the polls; Monterey County saw below-average turnout, with 30% turnout compared to the 34.8% state average.
U.S. Senate: For both the partial term left vacant by the late California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the full Senate term, Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey will go on to the November ballot The Associated Press called the race on Election Night.
Congressional District 19: Incumbent Democrat Jimmy Panetta will face Republican challenger Jason Anderson in the general election.
Proposition 1: Governor Gavin Newsom’s “treatment not tents” proposition passes by a 0.4% margin.
Measure M: The “tall buildings” measure in the city of Santa Cruz is defeated, with over 60% of voters voting it down.
Measure N: Measure N, which helps fund Watsonville Community Hospital, secured more than the two-thirds majority needed to pass: 71.6% of voters across Monterey and Santa Cruz counties supported it.
Measure P: The city of Soledad will not be scrapping direct mayoral elections this fall, with more than 89% of city voters saying “no” on P.
Counties must submit final official results for presidential delegates and for all other state contests to the Secretary of State by Apr. 2 and Apr. 5, respectively. The Secretary of State will certify those results on Apr. 12.
Original story and updates from before March 22:
Super Tuesday results are rolling in as votes from polling places are tallied. Three waves were slated for Election Night — the first was uploaded around 8:30 p.m., with the final wave coming in around 12:00 a.m.
But despite it being the final opportunity to vote in this cycle’s primary election, mail-in ballots across the state continue to be processed, meaning some tight races could be decided days or even weeks after March 5.
Places to check for results for state and county races are linked below:
The Associated Press will be tracking and reporting the results for federal races, including the presidential primary. Incumbent President Joe Biden has secured the Democratic delegates from California, with Republican frontrunner and former President Donald Trump clinching the state’s Republican delegates.
Here are what some key local and state races look like as of 1:20 p.m. on March 18.
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This page will continue to be updated.
U.S. Senate
For both the partial term left vacant by the late California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the full Senate term, Democrat Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey are the two top vote-getters. The Associated Press called the race on Election Night.
Democratic U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) told KAZU after the first wave of Election Night votes that Schiff had done “good work … in his campaign to ensure that he is number one.”
Garvey assumed a slim lead over Schiff late Election Night for the partial term race.
The top two candidates in both the partial and full U.S. Senate races go on to the general election ballot in November.
Congressional District 19
Panetta (CA-19), the incumbent, is leading the race against challenger Sean Dougherty, running as part of the Green Party and Jason Anderson, who’s a Republican.
“I’m humbled by the results in the 19th congressional district that just came in,” Panetta said.
The district was redrawn last year, which Panetta said, as he canvassed the area, many constituents didn’t realize.
“I’ll be continuing to do a lot of driving up and down Highway 101 and Highway 1 to ensure that … people understand I’m here to help them with the federal government, be it a personal issue, continuing to make sure that federal funding is here for local projects and continuing to work on federal legislation that impacts our important issues,” he said.
Panetta is leading the race with 66.3% of the vote. Anderson has 27.4% and Dougherty has the remaining 6.4%, with 100% of precincts partially reporting.
The top two candidates in the race go on to the general election in November.
Proposition 1
With 100% of precincts across the state partially reporting, the early vote shows Governor Gavin Newsom’s pet proposition — its tagline being “treatment, not tents” — passing by a hair. The latest batch of mail-in votes decreased support by another 0.1%.
So far, 50.1% of voters are in support, with 49.9% against.
The proposition does two things: It would create a $6.38 billion bond to expand California’s mental health and substance abuse treatment infrastructure, including permanent supportive housing for unhoused residents who live with mental illness. But it would also require the redistribution of 30% of county funding to housing over other services. Some, including the ACLU and Monterey County’s director of behavioral health, Katy Eckert, have worried, if it passes, it will divert money away from existing mental health preventative resources.
“My fear is that there will actually be more people who end up homeless, because we will not be able to wrap the same levels of supports around them,” she told KAZU before the election.
Mental health and housing are both intertwined with Prop. 1 and Santa Cruz voter Diane Goldwasser told KAZU that she headed to the polls because these are both “crucial issues for families and the community …so I wanted to come out and make my opinion part of what we end up doing.”
Measure M
The “tall buildings” measure, which appeared solely on Santa Cruz ballots, would require a referendum on any development project exceeding existing height limits. Those are generally around seven stories for high-rise buildings. It would also increase the requirement for affordable units in new developments to 25% from the current 20%.
The latest batch of Santa Cruz votes still show the measure, which requires a majority to pass, has been soundly defeated — 60.55% of counted votes are against it, with an estimated 650 votes in Santa Cruz County left to be counted.
Its supporters, including grassroots group Housing for People, told KAZU prior to the election that the measure is an effort to give citizens “a say in how the city is going to grow and look.”
The affordable housing requirement was also meant to help address that longstanding issue in Santa Cruz, but Measure M opponents, including former city mayor Don Lane, argued raising the requirement would scare developers away and reduce the likelihood of more affordable units being built.
“The city of Santa Cruz in the last 40 years has grown by 18,000 in population, and yet we've only constructed 3,500 housing units in that same time,” Lane said. “We have a lot of catching up to do here.”
Measure N
Some Monterey and Santa Cruz County voters saw Measure N on their ballot this election. It would create a $116 million bond through higher property taxes, intended to go toward the Watsonville Community Hospital and allow the community-owned facility to purchase the land it sits on.
Because it would create a new tax, the measure requires a two-thirds majority to pass.
After the most recent update, it looks set to do so: Across Santa Cruz and Monterey counties, 71.18% of the votes are in favor of the bond.
Registered nurse Quiché Rubalcava has worked for the hospital for 20 years and, prior to the election, said the bond would “give us the opportunity to buy the land to really secure the healthcare for the county for the next 30 years.”
Measure P
Measure P, if passed, would cement a change in how Soledad residents elect their mayor. A majority vote in favor would shift the city to a rotating mayor model, in which council members cycle the position annually.
On the other hand, a majority opposing the measure would bring the Soledad City Council back to the drawing board as it seeks to address a violation of the California Voting Rights Act. But that would mean residents can still directly vote for their mayor come November, when the rotating mayor model would take effect.
Some voters in Soledad said the measure brought them out to vote, including Ana Caballero, who said it was the “biggest reason” she came to the polls.
“I don’t want Soledad to take away my right to vote for the mayor,” she said. “I don’t think it’s up to the councilpeople to do that. I think it’s the people who have that right.”
With 100% of precincts reporting, and the latest round of mail-in votes in, it looks like the vast majority of voters agreed with Caballero: 89.20% of votes counted so far have been against the measure.
Erin Malsbury contributed reporting.
