SLO County releases more vote results. Where races stand with 9,000 ballots left
Primary election results began to solidify in San Luis Obispo County with just over 9,000 ballots left to count as of Thursday afternoon.
Jimmy Paulding and Jim Dantona both were on their way to victory with leads of at least seven points or more, all but securing wins in their individual SLO County supervisor races.
Meanwhile, a tax to buy an old Los Osos elementary school was also continuing to pass, after the latest release of primary election vote results on Thursday.
As of Thursday, the San Luis Obispo County elections office had processed 92,067 ballots. An estimated 9,039 unprocessed ballots still need to be counted, according to the county’s ballot report.
The next vote results update was expected by 5 p.m. Friday — when final races could be clinched if a majority of leftover ballots are processed.
According to a new state law, counties are required to have the bulk of all tabulation done by June 15, though provisional ballots and those needing signature cures will continue to be counted past that date.
The deadline for county elections officials to certify election results is July 2.
Jim Dantona keeps lead in SLO County District 2 supervisor race
Dantona now leads the race for District 2 San Luis Obispo County supervisor by more than 1,100 votes following the Thursday results update.
As of 4:48 p.m., with 16,390 ballots counted, Dantona led the race with 53.5% of the vote over Michael Erin Woody, who was trailing with 46.5% of the vote.
Woody had first surged ahead with 102 more votes than Dantona after the first report on Election Night. After all poll ballots were counted early Wednesday morning, Woody had widened his lead to 240 votes.
But the last five vote releases have completely flipped that first narrative.
By June 4, Dantona had surged ahead in the race by 210 votes, and on Monday, that margin grew to a 501-vote advantage. By Wednesday, Dantona had 1,076 more votes than Woody.
As of Thursday, the two candidates were separated by 1,140 votes.
The candidate who wins more than 50% of the vote captures the seat and will replace Supervisor Bruce Gibson, who announced last May that he would not seek reelection in 2026.
Jimmy Paulding maintains lead in District 4 supervisor race
Paulding lost 59 votes of his lead over challenger Adam Verdin, but he was still winning with nearly 1,600 more votes in the race for District 4 SLO County supervisor.
As of 4:48 p.m. Thursday, with 18,933 ballots counted, Paulding led the race with 54.2% of the vote over Verdin, who trailed by 8 points with 45.8%.
Paulding initially jumped ahead with 505 more votes than Verdin after the first report on Election Night. After all poll ballots were counted early Wednesday morning, the race had narrowed slightly, with Paulding leading by 386 votes.
After Monday’s results update, Paulding’s lead grew to 1,115 votes. By Wednesday, Paulding has 1,656 more votes than Verdin.
After Thursday’s count, Paulding had 1,597 more votes than his opponent.
The candidate who gets more than 50% of the vote wins the seat.
Los Osos ballot measure passing by nearly 500 votes
A Los Osos ballot measure that would create a tax to buy an old elementary school and transform it into a public park was passing by nearly 500 votes after the latest release of vote totals Thursday.
As of 4:48 p.m., “yes” votes for Measure B-26 were ahead with 53.9% of the vote, while “no” votes were trailing at 46.1% after 6,045 votes had been counted.
The measure had trailed at first, before the “yes” votes moved ahead in the count update released on Monday. On Wednesday, the margin had grown to 420 votes.
After the most recent Thursday release, the measure was passing by 471 votes.
The initiative would create a $15-per-month parcel tax to fund the purchase of the property of the former Sunnyside Elementary School site and turn it into a community park.
