Election day may be nearly a week behind us, but votes are still being counted and the results of some Berkeley races are still being determined, including District 8 where Lori Droste is currently very narrowly ahead for that council seat.
Absentee ballots are still being processed and will likely continue through the week. The latest counts are posted to the Alameda County registrar of voters website around 5 p.m. daily. Under state law, Alameda County has until Dec. 2 to certify its election results.
Berkeleyside is keeping results updated daily on our main Election 2014 results post, and will continue do so so until all races have officially ended.
In District 7, incumbent Kriss Worthington has kept his seat on the council after Sean Barry, who was the only candidate running against him, conceded the race.
“I’d like to congratulate Kriss Worthington and thank my supporters. The outcome is clear even if the final tally is not,” Barry said today.
At the latest count, the results of which were released by the Alameda County registrar of voters at 5:05 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, Worthington had secured 670 votes compared to 540 for Barry.
Only 1,391 people had voted in the District 7 race, less than 10% of the estimated 14,000 residents in District 7, a significant portion of whom are UC Berkeley students, according to local observer Eric Panzer, who estimates about 86% of those residents are aged 18-29.
According to the county registrar, District 7 has 8,565 registered voters. Berkeley as a whole has about 78,000 registered voters.
Barry, 27, an alum of UC Berkeley and Berkeley High School who works for Blue Shield, would have been the youngest person on the council.
Meanwhile, the District 8 race has turned into a nail-biting affair with two contenders — Lori Droste and George Beier — almost neck-and-neck in the final stretch. As of 5 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 9, there were just 12 votes between them but Droste had pulled into the lead with 1,995 votes (50.15%), compared to George Beier’s 1,983 (49.85%).
In the School Board race, it looks fairly certain that incumbent Julie Sinai has lost her seat on the board. Sinai, who was appointed, not elected, to the board following the resignation of Leah Wilson in March 2013, had secured 15,427 votes (21.24%) at latest count, but Karen Hemphill was ahead by 485 votes. Hemphill is currently showing 15,912 votes (21.91%) which puts her in third place. There were three openings being contested by five candidates in this election. Ty Alper, a Cal law professor, gained a seat on the board with a clear majority — 19,356 votes at last count.
As of end of day Sunday, an estimated 14,000 votes remained to be processed countywide. Updates posted online Sunday “reflect an additional 10,164 ballots that were counted since the Registrar’s last update on Saturday afternoon,” according to a statement from the county. Thus far, Alameda County has counted ballots submitted by 347,600 voters.
Berkeley is estimated to account for approximately 10% of the county in terms of votes.
Check Berkeleyside’s main Election 2014 post for latest results after 5 p.m every day.
Related:
District 8 race a toss-up; Barry says he is still fighting for District 7; other council races more settled (11.05.14)
Challenger Ty Alper gets seat on Berkeley School Board; third seat too close to call (11.05.14)
Berkeley native seeks to be youngest City Council member (07.07.14)
Support independent local journalism by becoming a Berkeleyside member. Members enjoy lots of perks, like invitations to member-only events, and an annual party.
