SAN DIEGO, CA — The polls are closed in San Diego County, and voters will soon know who was elected to city councils across the county, if billionaires will get their own California tax, and whether a blue wave will flood Congress, possibly sinking the final two years of President Donald Trump's lame-duck presidency.
Millions of voters and election officials wait not only for the results but also for the president's reaction. Trump's Justice Department spent the final two weeks of the campaign season issuing subpoenas to California election officials and suing to block 20,000 Golden State ballots from being counted amid allegations of illegal voting. The Justice Department issued subpoenas for multiple California election officials to appear in court the day after the election.
Amid that contentious backdrop, Californians cast their ballots for a new governor, widely expected to be Democrat Xavier Becerra, who went into the election with a wide lead in the polls over Republican Steve Hilton.
The outcome of dozens of down-ballot primary races also hangs in the balance in San Diego County. Voters are waiting to find out who came out ahead in council and the Board of Supervisors races.
Scroll down for real-time San Diego County election results.
Click here to track your ballot and make sure it is counted.
As of September, the California Secretary of State reported that 23,164,977 Californians were registered to vote, which accounts for more than 85 percent of the state's eligible voting population.
Not surprisingly, there are far more registered Democrats than Republicans in the state, with 45 percent for the former and 25 percent for the latter.
In San Diego County, the rate of voter registration is high. As of September, it was 83.97 percent — with 40.64 percent of voters registered as Democrats, 27.29 percent as Republicans.
Based on early voting, California is poised to see 60 percent of registered voters head to the polls, a record for a gubernatorial race, Paul Mitchell, of political data analysis firm Political Data told The San Francisco Chronicle.
While the governor's race was expected to be called early Tuesday, it's California's congressional races and ballot measures poised to offer the biggest upsets and surprises. Hanging in the balance is control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Mitchell predicted that five key redrawn congressional districts appear poised to deliver Democratic victories driven, in part, by high turnout among Latino voters.
"I think the blue wave is on track," Mitchell told The Chronicle. "It seems to be on track that we're going to have a really strong turnout."
So far, voter turnout has been higher in competitive races such as the Central Valley's District 22 and the 48th Congressional District in San Diego — two districts Democrats hope to flip after their mid-decade gerrymander.
As of Oct. 29, Democratic voters represented 51 percent of ballots returned statewide compared to just 28 percent among Republican voters, according to the Political Data tracker.
San Diego County voters appeared poised to keep one incumbent supervisor in office and elect a new representative in North County, while two countywide ballot measures remained too close to call Tuesday, according to preliminary election results.
Two countywide ballot measures were narrowly ahead in preliminary results. Measure A, which would change county government oversight and extend supervisor term limits, had 50.7 percent support, compared with 49.3 percent opposed. Measure B, a proposed half-cent countywide sales tax, had 50.3 percent support, compared with 49.7 percent opposed.
Both measures remained too close to call based on the initial returns.
San Diego County voters also decided races for treasurer-tax collector and two seats on the Board of Supervisors in Tuesday's election.
Only voters in the respective supervisorial districts voted in those contests.
The results are preliminary, with additional ballots remaining to be counted.
San Diego County voters also cast ballots in five congressional districts, including a closely watched race in the newly redrawn 48th District.
In District 48, Democrat Marni von Wilpert led Republican Jim Desmond with 45,884 votes, or 58.5 percent, compared with Desmond's 32,544 votes, or 41.5 percent, in the San Diego County portion of the district.
In District 49, Democratic incumbent Mike Levin led Republican Armen Kurdian with 93,249 votes, or 60.3 percent, compared with Kurdian's 61,335 votes, or 39.7 percent, in the San Diego County portion of the district.
Three other congressional races featured Democratic incumbents seeking reelection: Scott Peters against Republican Steve Cohen in District 50, Sara Jacobs against Republican Ricardo Cabrera in District 51 and Juan Vargas against Republican Jeff Belle in District 52.
Local elections across the county also produced several closely watched contests.
In Carlsbad, incumbent Mayor Keith Blackburn led his four-way reelection race with 23,982 votes, or 73.2 percent.
In Encinitas, challenger Rimga Viskanta narrowly led incumbent Mayor Bruce Ehlers with 9,108 votes, or 50.4 percent, compared with Ehlers' 8,947 votes, or 49.6 percent.
In Oceanside, incumbent City Council members Eric Joyce and Rick Robinson held leads in their reelection bids. Joyce led the District 1 race with 60.1 percent of the vote, while Robinson led the five-way District 2 contest with 43.0 percent.
Oceanside voters also supported Measure R, involving public construction projects, with 63.6 percent voting yes. Measure S, a proposed half-cent sales tax increase, trailed with 48.9 percent support.
In Santee, incumbent Councilmembers Rob McNelis and Ronn Hall led their reelection races with 63.6 percent and 61.5 percent of the vote, respectively.
Santee's Measure Y, a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase, trailed with 40.8 percent support, compared with 59.3 percent opposed.
Measure BB, a $30 million Santee School District bond proposal requiring 55% voter approval, also trailed with 49.1 percent support, compared with 50.9 percent opposed.
The results remain unofficial as election officials continue counting ballots.
County election details and candidate information are available at sdvote.com.
Can't see the widget? Click here for all county election results. Be sure to refresh this page for the latest.
California voters headed to the polls Tuesday, facing high gas and grocery prices, the effects of climate change on wildfires and rising seas amid a shortage in insurance coverage and the ever-present housing affordability crisis.
The governor's race was somewhat anticlimactic following a chaotic primary with a crowded field of candidates roiled when the frontrunner was forced to step down amid sexual assault allegations. Since then, Becerra maintained a steady lead over Hilton in the polls.
In the final days of the election, a new SurveyUSA poll showed Becerra with a 22-point lead.
Click here for real-time results in the California Governor's races.
All 52 of California's Congressional seats were on the ballot.
Congressional races across California were under intense scrutiny following voter approval of Proposition 50, a partisan redistricting measure expected to reshape the state's political map. Thanks to the redistricting, only a handful of districts were truly competitive. Democrats hoped to flip as many as five Republican House seats in a bid to overturn the GOP's slim House majority.
Democrats think they can flip as many as five seats, with four seeming very much in reach, according to the polls. Both parties are spending like control of the House is on the line.
Click here for real-time results in California's Congressional races.
There were 14 statewide propositions on the ballot this week. Arguably, the most hot-button ballot initiatives involve taxation. Proposition 40 is the highly discussed billionaire tax, while Propositions 41 and 42 aim to counter the measure. Proposition 3 also addresses taxes on the state's highest earners.
Click here for real-time results for all of California's ballot measures.
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