LAKE COUNTY — The county”s Registrar of Voters is being conservative about estimates regarding how long it will take to count the ballots cast today around the county.
Polls will remain open until 8 p.m., and with the race for District 3 Supervisor being so hotly contested, it”s anybody”s guess how long it may actually take to count the ballots.
According to Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley, District Three is already leading all of Lake County”s other four districts with regard to how many absentee ballots have been turned in.
As of mail delivery on Friday, District Three voters have turned in 54.33 percent of the absentee ballots sent out, said Fridley.
The next highest percentage of absentee ballots turned in as of Friday is 51.12 percent from District One. The other three hover districts between 44 and 49 percent.
Countywide, 49.23 percent of absentee voters have cast their ballot. Fridley said 14,683 absentee voter ballots were issued by 5 p.m. Nov. 3, and of those, 7,228 have been returned.
But those numbers are most likely increasing drastically as you are reading this.
“The bulk of our absentees are returned the day before and the day of election,” said Fridley.
Fridley explained that the votes received so far will not be counted until late today, and information regarding which District Three candidate may be in the lead cannot be released until after the poles close at 8 p.m.
Fridley also noted that she has 28 days to certify an election.
After that time, said Fridley, the results of will be posted on the county”s Web site at www.co.lake.ca.us. Up-to-the-minute results can also be obtained in the county Board of Supervisors chambers at the courthouse in Lakeport.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
