The Shasta County Registrar of Voters continues to update preliminary counts of its primary election earlier this month.
Some races in the county are too close to call, including the recall election of Kevin Crye.
Initially votes to recall Crye were in the lead, but the most recent update from the county today now shows the recall trailing, by 46 votes. Only residents of Crye’s district were able to vote in the race.
Annelise Pierce, director of nonprofit news outlet Shasta Scout told NSPR yesterday that there could be as many as 1,000 ballots that still need to be counted. There’s no way to know exactly how many remain.
“[We’re all hanging] on the edge of our seats,” Pierce said.
Over the past week the race has continued to go back and forth by a close margin.
“Regardless of the outcome, there's a great likelihood that someone on either side may call for a recount,” Pierce said.
Overall the atmosphere around the primary election this year was subdued compared to the past, Pierce said.
“We've had a number of very contentious elections here in Shasta County over the last few years. And I think we all kind of gear up for it and brace ourselves,” she said. “It was a calmer election this time at the polls, and at the elections office.”
On Super Tuesday in Shasta County, NSPR spoke with citizens who went to observe other observers they were concerned might harass poll workers, something that has happened in the past. But no major disruptions took place this year.
As of now, Pierce said residents are waiting to see the final official results for several key races. One is a possible win by Matt Plummer over incumbent Supervisor Patrick Jones, which would need approval by the board of supervisors.
“The process of certifying an election … involves our local Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen certifying those votes. Then those votes [are] administratively sealed and approved by the board of supervisors,” Pierce said.
It’s a process she said won’t happen for another month or so.
In the meantime, preliminary counts will continue to be released, with the next update expected on March 22.
