Murrieta Election Results 2024: City Council, School Board Trustees

MURRIETA, CA—Murrieta went to the polls and mailed in ballots to be counted in the November 5, 2024, election for national, state, and county measures and local races. Meanwhile, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters continues to open absentee ballots and count votes.

Three seats in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District and two on the City Council were up for grabs. In all cases, incumbents campaigned for their spots, but whether things remain the same is still unknown, as no races have yet been called as of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.

The Murrieta Valley Unified School District Trustee Areas 3, 4, and 5 were on the ballot, featuring incumbents and newcomers.

In Trustee Area 3, challenger Yvonne Munoz took on incumbent Julie Vandegrift, and early returns show the race is very close, with Vandegrift holding a slight lead.

Trustee Area 4, which featured newcomer candidate Eleanor Cruz Briggs, faced off against incumbent Linda Lunn, also in a tight contest.

Trustee Area 5 pitted incumbent Paul F. Diffley against challengers Deon Mario Hairston and Christine Schmidt, and early returns show Diffley trailing.

The Murrieta City Council, District 3 and District 4 seats were also voted upon Tuesday.

Tentative results for the District 3 council seat show incumbent Lisa DeForest leading that race over Michael DeSena and trailing candidate John Nakagawa.

In District 4, incumbent Lori Stone looks to hold her seat by a wide margin against challengers Javier L. Rubalcaba and Frank Madrid.

See the latest election results here (scroll down to MVUSD races):

What does it mean when the results above indicate "100% of precincts reported?"

"Precincts reported" used to be an effective measure of ballot counting, but the widespread adoption of vote-by-mail has changed that.

"A race with 100% of precincts reported could mean that only a few vote-by-mail ballots have been counted in every precinct across Riverside County. It's by no means an indicator that all votes have been counted," according to Riverside County Registrar of Voters spokesperson Elizabeth Florer.

When will ballot counting be done in Riverside County?

It will take until at least Nov. 12, if not longer. Any vote-by-mail ballots delivered by the postal service, postmarked on or before Election Day and received by Nov. 12, 2024, will be verified and counted. Election results will continue to be updated daily (excluding Sundays) until all ballots are counted, according to the registrar.

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Here's How Election Results Are Being Released In Riverside County

Riverside County 2024 Election Results: See The Latest

For full coverage of the election in California, click here.