Ballots still being counted from March 5th Primary

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Vote counting doesn't stop on Election Day. The Fresno County Clerk's Office is still processing ballots. The process takes time.

Voters could drop their ballots into the mail until election day and those take time to arrive. Once in the building, signatures must be verified, a time-consuming process.

Voter turnout was low in the state, about 26%, and Fresno County is no different, with around 30% voter turnout expected.

County Clerk James Kus said turnout for Presidential Primary Elections is normally around 40%. That turnout depends on interest in the race at the top of the ballot.

"For this election, those presidential primary races were kind of already taken care of even before Super Tuesday, so there wasn't a lot of draw at the top of the ballot," said Kus.

Kus' office provided an update on Tuesday afternoon, and we expect to have yet another by Friday afternoon, with about 95% of the votes counted by then. Those results still won't be official. Kus and his staff have more steps to complete.

"We have other activities, the post-election activities that we have ongoing right now where we check," said Kus. "We do a manual tally to check our tabulators. We do other activities that are going on to basically test the election."

Ensuring those results are accurate is especially important in tight races, such as Measure O, which would approve continuing a special tax for the Orange Cove Police And Fire Departments. To pass, the measure needs two-thirds approval and the numbers have remained close.

The County is also counting ballots in races that will impact larger districts, such as the 20th Congressional District Race, and California Assembly District 8.

"We do have one assembly race that is fairly close and we have to watch those results as they come in across seven different counties," said Kus. "So, we try to get all of our ballots taken care of and then let everyone else get their results in."

The March 5th election results must be certified and submitted to the Secretary of State by April 2.

Kus also wants to remind voters who are in the Congressional District 20. The Special Election is being held next Tuesday. Vote centers are now open and will be open through 8 p.m. March 19th.