California primary election live updates: Monterey County voter turnout dismal at 16%
Monterey County voters headed to the polls on Tuesday to cast their ballot — or at least some of them did.
There were several key races on the ballot, including who would be elected the next Monterey County sheriff.
In the first wave of election results, Tina Nieto took a strong lead in the Monterey County sheriff's race with nearly 50% of the vote. In order to avoid a runoff election in November, she needs 51% of the vote.
Lifelong North County resident Glenn Church is leading in the Monterey County supervisors District 2 race with 33% of the vote. Salinas Mayor Kimbley Craig is in a close second with 21%.
Throughout Election Day, The Californian will provide updates on local polling locations, early results, and any issues impacting Monterey County voters.
On Tuesday morning, Alexandra Edwards drove from Carmel to Seaside's Oldemeyer Center to drop off her ballot.
“I’m very interesting the sheriff's and the (State Assembly District 30) races," she said. "I teach dance at a public school and my daughter is a student, so these issues are really important to me.”
Edwards said the voter turnout at the polls was "depressing." By 8:45 a.m. Election Day, four people had voted in-person at the Seaside polling site.
"There has always been a low turnout as long as I’ve been voting, but we are at an important time for our country and now we are under threat," Edwards said. "It’s important to vote on these decisions."
On Tuesday night, The Monterey County Elections Office was at 16% returned ballots — 34,029. There are 208,274 registered voters in the county.
Here's a look at who is on the primary ballot in Monterey County.
U.S. Representative District 18 candidates:
Zoe Lofgren - Democrat (incumbent)
Luis Acevedo-Arreguin - Democrat
Peter Hernandez - Republican
U.S. Representative District 19 candidates:
Jimmy Panetta - Democrat (incumbent)
Douglas Deitch - Democrat
Dalila Epperson - Republican
Jeff Gorman - Republican
State Assembly District 29 candidates:
Robert Rivas - Democrat (Incumbent)
Stephanie Castro - Republican
State Assembly District 30 candidates:
Dawn Addis - Democrat
Zoe Carter - Democrat
John Drake - Democrat
Vicki Nohrden - Republican
Jon Wizard - Democrat
Monterey County Sheriff/Coroner candidates:
Jeffery James Hoyne
Joe Moses
Tina Neito
Justin Patterson
Monterey County Board of Supervisors District 2 candidates:
Glenn Church
Kimbley Craig
Regina Gage
Grant Leonard
Adriana Melgoza Ramirez
Steve Snodgrass
Monterey County Board of Education, Governing Board Member Trustee Area 1 candidates:
Jake Odello
Annette Yee Steck
To view a complete candidate list and statements visit Monterey County Elections Office website.
Key dates
Voters should return their vote-by-mail ballot by mail with prepaid postage as long as it's postmarked on or before Election Day, June 7, 2022, and received by June 14.
The last day to register to vote for the primary election was May 23. However, in-person voting locations will offer voter registration, replacement ballots, accessible voting machines, and language assistance to those who need it.
Official election results, certified by the Secretary of State's Office, will be posted on the website by July 15. The last day for the secretary of state to release the official supplement to the statement of the vote is Nov. 12.
This article originally appeared on Salinas Californian: California primary election results: Monterey County voters hit polls
