LAKEPORT, Calif. – Election day is past, but there is still a lot of work ahead for the Registrar of Voters Office in order to finalize ballot counts and certify the election.

Each election day usually ends with a preliminary count and thousands of vote-by-mail – or absentee – and provisional ballots that still need to be processed and counted.

That's the case again this year.

Early Wednesday morning, Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley and her staff were working on absentee ballot processing, which had begun in late October with absentee ballots that were returned early.

Fridley's preliminary ballot count issued early Wednesday included 6,587 absentees and 6,897 precinct ballots, but those numbers don't accurately reflect the total turnout, the initial estimate of which is 38.9 percent.

In the weeks ahead, the turnout should change significantly, as presidential election turnouts in Lake County have been much higher – 73.6 percent in 2008, 67.8 percent in 2012, according to Registrar's records.

After the initial preliminary count of precincts and absentees, Fridley tallied another 6,937 absentee ballots that had been turned in to her office but remained to be processed and counted.

In addition to those absentees, there were still thousands more that at that point hadn't yet been counted. They were contained in dozens of cases that were in two large stacks at the back of the room where Fridley's staff was working on the count.

Also in those stacks were cases of provisional ballots that hadn't yet been counted, Fridley said.

The majority of Lake County's registered voters have over the last several years gravitated toward voting by mail.

While some voters have been moved to vote-by-mail because they no longer have a physical precinct, Fridley believes the overall shift is largely an issue of convenience.

On election night, Fridley told Lake County News that she believed her office had issued the most vote-by-mail ballots that it has in its history in this election, and as a result received the largest-ever return of absentees.

The California Secretary of State's Office said voting by mail also has increased significantly statewide.

State records showed that in the 2000 presidential primary, 23.38 percent of Californians voted absentee, while the June presidential primary saw 58.92 percent voting by mail.

Absentee ballots must either be turned in at the polls or to Fridley's office, or mailed on or before election day, meaning that ballots can still be arriving up to three days later, the Secretary of State's Office reported.

To process vote-by-mail ballots, Fridley's staff has to go through a number of steps, including confirming the voter's registrations status and verifying their signature on the ballot envelope, and making sure that the person didn't vote elsewhere.

There also are the specific issues that can arise with vote-by-mail ballots, such as those encountered by Fridley and her staff Tuesday night when working to issue the first count of the evening, which was the initial tally of absentees.

Fridley said they had problems with ballots that were creased, torn, folded or otherwise damaged that made them difficult to process through the vote tabulation machine.

The Registrar of Voters Office now has a month to finish processing the uncounted absentee and provisional ballots as part of the official canvass and the work to certify the election.

Until that work is done, the results of the local races won't be final.

That's important to remember in close races such as those for seats on the city councils for Clearlake and Lakeport, where in some cases only a few dozen ballots separate the finishers; in the close race between Jose “Moke” Simon III and Monica Rosenthal for the District 1 supervisorial seat, in which Simon leads by approximately 113  votes; and the final results of Measure V, Clearlake's specific road sales tax, which requires a two-thirds supermajority and so far has cleared that requirement by a slim margin of six-tenths of a percentage point.

The Secretary of State's Office reported that elections officials have 28 days to report the final results for presidential races and 30 days to report the final results of all other contests. This year, those dates fall on Dec. 6 and Dec. 9, respectively.

The Secretary of State Office reported that it will certify the results for presidential electors to the governor by Dec. 10, with all other state contests to be certified by Dec. 16.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – On Tuesday, in the races for state and congressional seats representing Lake County, voters elected to send the mayor of a small valley city to the State Assembly and reelected two incumbents to the House of Representatives.

The Secretary of State's Office reported preliminary results for federal and state races early Wednesday that showed that Cecilia Aguiar-Curry was elected to the District 4 State Assembly seat, while John Garamendi and Mike Thompson – Democrats representing Congressional districts 3 and 5, respectively – easily won reelection to the House of Representatives against their Republican opponents.

In the race to succeed Bill Dodd in the Assembly 4 seat, with 100 percent of the district's 486 precincts reporting, Aguiar-Curry, a Democrat and the mayor of Winters, topped Esparto resident Charlie Schaupp, a Republican and retired lieutenant colonel in the Marines.

The race results showed that Aguiar-Curry received 71,862 votes, or 63.6 percent of the vote districtwide, while Schaupp received 41,172 votes, or 36.4 percent, according to the Secretary of State's Office.

The District 4 Assembly race was closer in Lake County, based on preliminary numbers released by the Registrar of Voters Office.

The county returns showed that Aguiar-Curry received 6,673 votes, or 53.8 percent, to Schaupp's 5,737 votes, or 46.2 percent.

Turning to the congressional races, the Secretary of State's Office reported that with all 569 precincts reporting in the District 3 race, Garamendi received 102,237 votes, or 59.5 percent, while his opponent, Dr. Eugene Cleek, had 69,563, or 40.5 percent.

Lake County's voting results mirrored those in the rest of District 3, with 3,888 ballots cast, or 59.2 percent, for Garamendi, while Cleek received 2,678 votes, or 40.8 percent.

In the District 5 race, Thompson had an even more decisive win over challenger Carlos Santamaria.

The Secretary of State's Office results showed that, with 100-percent of the district's 573 precincts reporting, Thompson received 147,902 votes, or 77 percent, compared to the 44,223 votes, or 23 percent of the vote, cast for Santamaria.

In Lake County alone, preliminary results showed that Thompson received 4,034 votes, or 67 percent, to Santamaria's 1,988 votes, or 22 percent.

On Tuesday night, Thompson thanked the district's voters for “the tremendous show of support.”                                                               

“With the campaign behind us I look forward to continuing our work together, not as Democrats and Republicans, but united as Americans behind our shared goal of building a brighter future for our kids and grandkids. A future in which every hard-working American has a fair shot at earning a college degree, getting a well-paying job and enjoying financial security in retirement. A future in which everyone has access to quality, affordable health care and every veteran and military family gets the benefits they’ve earned. A future in which we honor our heritage as a nation of immigrants and celebrate the diversity that makes our country strong. A future in which climate change no longer threatens to destroy our planet and no child goes to school fearing for his or her safety,” he said in a written statement.

He concluded, “I’m ready to get to work on behalf of everyone in our Congressional District to turn our vision for a better, safer and more prosperous America into a reality for all.” 

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

KELSEYVILLE, Calif. – A Tuesday night vehicle crash knocked a power pole and power lines down across Soda Bay Road, resulting in an extended, overnight closure.

The crash was first reported shortly before 8 p.m. in the 8700 block of Soda Bay Road, near Konocti Harbor Inn, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The CHP said first responders arrived to find one person on scene who had gotten out of the vehicle. Additional details about possible injuries and the cause of the crash were not immediately available.

The vehicle couldn't be removed immediately because it was in the lines, the CHP said.

Pacific Gas and Electric responded to the scene to make repairs. The company did not report any power outages in effect late Tuesday.

The Lake County Public Works Department told Lake County News that the downed power pole and lines resulting from the crash closed Soda Bay Road between Riviera West Drive and Konocti Harbor.

Officials said there was no estimate as to when the road would reopen, with the road expected to be closed all night and into Wednesday.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

CLEARLAKE OAKS, Calif. – A Siskiyou County woman died on Tuesday afternoon in a head-on collision on Highway 20 that resulted in the arrest of the other driver for driving under the influence.

The California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred at approximately 12:17 p.m. on Highway 20, east of Clearlake Oaks and near New Long Valley Road.

The CHP said the fatal crash victim was a 45-year-old Weed woman whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin.

The other driver, Raymondo Meza, 55, of Chico, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, CHP Officer Joe Wind said.

The woman who died in the wreck was driving a 2016 Honda Civic westbound on Highway 20 at an unknown speed, while Meza was driving eastbound at a high rate of speed in a 1990 Chevrolet pickup with an unidentified female.

The CHP said that Meza, for reasons not yet determined, allowed his pickup to cross over the highway's double-yellow lines, directly into the path of the Honda.

The Honda's driver could not avoid the crash, with the two vehicles colliding head-on and the woman sustaining fatal injuries, the CHP said.

Meza and his passenger both suffered major injuries and were transported to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment, according to the CHP.

Wind said Meza is believed to have been under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs at the time of the crash, based on the investigation so far.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – The community is invited to join local veterans in Lake County's annual Veterans Day celebration on Friday, Nov. 11.

The commemoration takes place beginning at 11 a.m. at Konocti Vista Casino, 2755 Mission Rancheria Road, in Lakeport.

The annual event features guest speakers, and the presentation of awards to local veterans and those who support them.

Also featured is the Military Funeral Honors Team, which provides a rifle volley and the playing of “Taps.” The dedicated group has carried out the solemnities at hundreds of veterans' funerals.

Beginning at noon, after the ceremony, the casino will serve complimentary lunch and beverages while supplies last, and provide entertainment and awards.

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County voters gave their support to school bond measures, a cannabis cultivation tax and a general sales tax in Lakeport, and preliminary results show that a road tax in Clearlake may be headed for victory.

Lake County Registrar of Voters Diane Fridley issued the preliminary tally of precincts and some early absentees early Wednesday morning.

The results won't become final for another month while Fridley and her staff work to count thousands of absentee and provisional ballots in order to certify the election, so there are expected to be some changes in voting percentages.

The preliminary results showed that Measure V, the city of Clearlake's latest – and most road-focused – attempt to pass a dedicated sales tax, had received strong voter support, with 1,736 yes votes, or 67.3 percent of the vote, as opposed to 842 no votes, or 32.7 percent of the vote.

Measure V is a one-cent specific tax expected to annually generate $1.6 million that would be used for road improvements. In order for a specific tax to pass, it needs a supermajority of at least 66.7 percent.

Because of the measure's slim margin in the preliminary returns, a conclusion about its passage will have to wait for Fridley's final election certification.

However, most of the rest of the measures that went before county voters in the general election appear to be assured of victory thanks to large voter approval margins.

The school bond measures must pass by 55 percent, with the remaining measures needing a simple majority to win.

Measure A, Lucerne Elementary's $4 million school bond measure, received 488 yes votes, or 68.9 percent, compared to 220 no votes, totaling 31.1 percent.

Measure B, which doesn't raise taxes but only increases the South Lake County Fire Protection District's appropriations limit, received 1,518 yes votes, or 70.9 percent, versus 623 no votes, totaling 29.1 percent.

Measure C, which would institute a cultivation tax on cannabis growing in the unincorporated county – but exempts growing for personal medical use – received 7,905 yes votes, or 62.2 percent, and 4,811 no votes, or 37.8 percent.

Measure Q, the Yuba Community College bond measure, reauthorizes $33.5 million in bonds approved by voters in November 2006 as Measure J. It received 3,500 yes votes, or 59.9 percent, versus 2,342 no votes, or 40.1 percent.

Measure Y, Konocti Unified's $29.6 million school bond measure, received 2,624 yes votes, or 66.8 percent, in the preliminary count, versus 1,304 no votes, or 33.2 percent of the vote.

The city of Lakeport's one-cent sales tax, Measure Z – expected to raise $1.5 million annually for roads and public services – received 825 votes, or 61.8 percent of the vote, while no votes totaled 510, or 38.2 percent of the vote.

Clearlake voters also had two other measures to consider, W and X, which proposed changing the city clerk and city treasurer posts, respectively, from elected to appointed positions. In the case of the city treasurer post, it's been almost a decade since anyone ran for the position, and its duties have since been rolled into the city manager's job.

Preliminary results showed that voters supported making the city clerk spot appointed, with Measure W receiving yes votes totaling 1,234, or 50.3 percent of the vote, while no votes totaled 1,218, or 49.7 percent.

However, there was an opposite result when it came to the city treasurer spot, with yes votes totaling 1,203, or 48.8 percent of the vote, versus 1,263 no votes, or 51.2 percent of the vote.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.