Low voter participation so far in Paso water district election

Voter participation has been light in the election to decide whether to form a Paso Robles groundwater basin management district, according to San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong.

Gong said Tuesday that his office mailed out about 7,200 ballots to registered voters in the basin and 4,800 ballots to property owners on Feb. 8.

Thus far, about 1,600 ballots from registered voters, 1,400 ballots from property owners and 1,200 ballots for the board of directors seats have been returned. Gong said he expects a rush of ballots to come in near the March 8 deadline as procrastinators get around to voting.

“That’s what always happens,” he said.

The 7,200 registered voters in the basin will decide whether to approve a parcel tax that would supply the district about $1 million a year for five years to manage the basin. The parcel tax must be approved by a two-thirds margin.

The 4,800 property owners will decide by a simple majority whether the district should be formed. Both measures must be approved for the district to be implemented.

Additionally, 11 candidates are running for nine seats on the district’s board of directors. The board will have four categories of directors representing large, medium and small landowners and registered voters.

Gong said he would announce unofficial results of the election the night of March 8. It could take as long as a week to announce official results. That’s because ballots postmarked on March 8 can arrive at the elections office up to three days later and still be counted, Gong said.

This story was originally published February 23, 2016 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Low voter participation so far in Paso water district election."