Dist. 5 election remains close

The recent special election to fill the Madera City Council District 5 vacancy has yet to be decided.

“On Election Night, we counted 563 votes in the Madera City Council District 5 special election,” said Madera County Registrar of Voters Rebecca Martinez. “Of the 563 ballots, 514 were vote by mail ballots received prior to noon on Election Day, and 49 votes were cast at the Vote Center during the 11 days the vote center was open.”

On Wednesday, elections personnel processed an additional 50 vote by mail ballots received between noon and 8 p.m. on Election Day, Martinez said.

The total ballot count on election day is that 613 voters participated out of the 2,395 that were eligible. In accordance with the law, the office will continue to accept ballots until 5 p.m. Friday, provided they were postmarked by 8 p.m. on election day, she said.

Her office will process any timely ballots received throughout the week on Friday afternoon and provide updated vote totals.

As of Wednesday’s tally, vote totals were: Elsa Mejia, 368 votes, Matilda Villafan 235 votes.