Election Night is just the beginning: John Tuteur shares what Yountville voters need to know
When polls close on Tuesday, Nov. 3, Yountville voters will get their first look at who may become the town’s next mayor and fill the two Town Council seats. But even if early returns suggest clear winners, final results may take days or weeks to verify.
Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur says the county will release its first unofficial election results at 8:01 p.m. on Election Day, followed by updates approximately every two hours throughout the evening.
Those initial numbers, however, will represent only a portion of the ballots cast. Additional votes will be counted in the days and weeks following the election, and in closely contested races, the standings could change.
For Yountville voters, understanding how ballots are counted, when results are released and what those numbers mean will be especially important as the community watches the local races.
Ballot counting
Napa County’s election officials began preparing returned ballots for counting on Oct. 13, and according to Tuteur, began counting ballots on Saturday, Oct. 24.
Processing envelopes and counting votes are separate steps. Before a vote-by-mail ballot can be counted, election officials must verify that it meets eligibility requirements, including reviewing the signature on the return envelope.
The first results, scheduled for release at 8:01 p.m. on Nov. 3, will include vote-by-mail ballots processed through Sunday, Nov. 1. This means the first numbers released on election night will not include every ballot cast, or even necessarily every ballot returned before Election Day.
Tuteur said subsequent updates will be released approximately every two hours and will include in-person ballots cast at the county elections office beginning Oct. 5 and at vote centers beginning Oct. 24.
The county typically finishes counting Election Day in-person ballots before midnight, he said. Ballots received or processed later will be added in subsequent counts.
Following Yountville’s election results
Napa County will publish election results by contest, allowing Yountville residents to follow the mayoral and Town Council races separately, along with the results for Measure Y, which asks Yountville voters whether to update the town’s appropriations limit, sometimes referred to as the Gann Limit, for a four-year period.
According to the county’s election reporting template provided to the Sun by Tuteur, Yountville has 1,724 registered voters across four precincts.
The mayoral results will list candidates Marjorie Mohler and Joe Tagliaboschi separately, while the Town Council results will report votes for Matthew Chrzanowski, Hillery Bolt Trippe, Jessi Bugden, Robin McKee and Jill Turner. A sixth candidate Robert Moore was qualified as a write-in candidate, although the preliminary Napa County reporting template did not include Moore or specify how those votes will be displayed.
The report also includes a separate section for Measure Y, allowing residents to follow the local ballot measure alongside the candidate races. Each contest will display vote totals and percentages, as well as information about voter participation and precincts reporting.
One important limitation could make close local races difficult to call on election night. Tuteur said Napa County does not track the number of returned but uncounted ballots separately for Yountville or other individual jurisdictions.
Although the county’s reporting system displays voter participation as a percentage of registered voters, that figure should not be confused with the percentage of ballots counted. For example, if the report shows that 65% of Yountville’s registered voters have participated, that does not necessarily mean 65% of all ballots ultimately cast have been counted.
Similarly, a report showing that all four Yountville precincts have reported should not automatically be interpreted to mean that every ballot from those precincts has been counted.
Without knowing how many Yountville ballots remain outstanding, voters may have difficulty determining whether a narrow lead is likely to hold. That uncertainty could become particularly significant if the mayoral and Town Council seats are separated by only a handful of votes.
Yountville is divided into four election precincts, each representing a different geographic area of town.
The precincts are identified as:
Precinct 3511660: Southern Yountville.
Precinct 3511661: Central and northern residential Yountville.
Precinct 3511662: Western Yountville, including areas around California Drive.
Precinct 3511663: Eastern and southeastern Yountville.
These precincts are geographic election areas, not necessarily separate polling places. Although election night results will show combined totals for Yountville’s mayoral and Town Council races, Tuteur said the county will publish precinct-level results for every contest after the election is certified.
Those reports will provide a more detailed picture of how voters in different parts of Yountville cast their ballots.
Why election results can change
California’s vote-by-mail system allows certain ballots to arrive after Election Day and still be counted. Under state law, eligible vote-by-mail ballots postmarked on or before Nov. 3 can be counted if they arrive at the elections office no later than seven days after the election, or by Nov. 10.
Other ballots may require additional review, including provisional ballots and ballots cast by voters who registered conditionally. Tuteur said Napa County will resume counting Thursday, Nov. 5, and continue counting at least twice a week until the election is certified.
Beginning Nov. 5, the county will also publish an unprocessed ballot report and update it after each subsequent count. The report will provide information about outstanding ballots countywide, but it will not identify how many uncounted ballots belong to Yountville voters.
That distinction is important in close elections. Even if the number of outstanding ballots countywide is substantial, there may be no way to determine precisely how many could affect an individual Yountville contest.
Yountville ballot journey
Whether a Yountville voter mails a ballot, deposits it in an official drop box or votes in person at a vote center, the ballot is ultimately processed through Napa County’s central elections office.
“All ballots are processed at our central office,” Tuteur confirmed.
That includes ballots collected from local drop boxes and the ballot box at the Veterans Home of California in Yountville. Yountville’s ballots are not counted independently at a local polling place. Instead, they are handled through the same centralized system used for all elections throughout Napa County.
Tuteur said the county follows rigorous ballot-handling protocols designed to safeguard ballots and maintain the integrity of the election.
For vote-by-mail ballots, the return envelope is reviewed before the ballot is accepted for counting. Election records are used to determine whether a ballot has already been received and whether the voter is eligible to participate.
Ballot signature solutions
A ballot with a missing signature or a signature that does not match the voter’s registration record is not necessarily disqualified. California law provides voters an opportunity to correct certain signature problems through a process called signature curing.
Tuteur said Napa County voters who need to correct a signature issue have until Nov. 25 to return the required documentation. Voters who receive a notification about a missing or mismatched signature should respond promptly.
The signature-correction process is another reason some valid ballots may not be included in the initial election-night totals.
If a race is close and decided by just a few votes
In a close race, a small number of additional ballots could change which candidate is leading. California does not require an automatic recount simply because an election is decided by a narrow margin. Instead, a recount generally must be requested.
According to Tuteur, under California Elections Code Section 15620, any voter may request a recount after the official canvass is completed.
The written request must be submitted to the appropriate county elections official within five calendar days after completion of the canvass, no later than 5 p.m. on the fifth day.
The person requesting the recount is generally responsible for advancing its cost, although state law provides for reimbursement under certain circumstances, including when a recount changes the election outcome in favor of the candidate for whom it was requested.
A close election, therefore, does not automatically result in a recount. Until the official canvass is completed and results are certified, the reported standings remain unofficial.
Official, final election results
California counties generally have 30 days following an election to complete the official canvass and certify the results. For the Nov. 3 election, that deadline falls on Thursday, Dec. 3.
The canvass includes reviewing election records, reconciling ballots and voter participation, processing eligible outstanding ballots and completing other legally required verification procedures.
Tuteur said Napa County will release certified results in the same general format as the unofficial election-night reports once all canvass procedures are complete. While the county may finish before the deadline, the certification process is intended to ensure that all eligible votes have been properly accounted for.
Statewide issues
Yountville voters will also be able to learn how their community voted on statewide propositions and other races, although that more detailed information will not be immediately available.
Tuteur said Napa County will publish precinct-level results for each contest after the election is certified. Those reports will offer a more detailed picture of how voters in Yountville and other Napa County communities voted on candidates and ballot measures.
For the congressional contest between Mike Thompson and Eric Jones, Napa County will report only votes cast within its portion of California’s 4th Congressional District.
To see districtwide results, including votes cast in other counties, voters will need to consult the California Secretary of State’s election results.
Voters should remember
- For Yountville residents watching the election returns on Nov. 3, the first results at 8:01 p.m. will offer an early look at the races for mayor and Town Council.
- Updates throughout the evening may clarify the standings, but they will not necessarily settle the outcome.
- Additional ballots will be counted beginning Nov. 5, and the process could continue for several weeks.
- Because Napa County does not report the number of outstanding ballots separately for Yountville, it may be especially difficult to determine the likely outcome of a close race before certification.
- For voters, candidates and the community, the most important distinction is between an early lead and an official victory.
- Election night will reveal the first results. The complete count will determine who wins.
Election Information and Results
Napa County Elections: https://www.napacounty.gov
California Secretary of State: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections
California Ballot Tracking: https://california.ballottrax.net/voter/
The Yountville Sun will follow results of the local races as they are released, providing updates as the count progresses.
