Merced County certified its primary election results. Why did so many residents sit it out?

Election results for the June 7 primary were certified by the Merced County Registrar of Voters this week — and much like the rest of the state, the number of residents who cast ballots tallied low.

All ballots are officially counted and the results are certified, Merced County Registrar of Voters Darlene Ingersoll told the Sun-Star Wednesday. In total, 31,835 of 123,894 registered voters cast ballots in the primary.

Merced County voter turnout ultimately came to 25.7%, approaching the county’s previous low points of 25.4% in June 2006 and 25.1% in 2014.

“It was a low turnout,” Ingersoll said. “That’s typical of these types of primary elections.”

Nearby in Fresno County, voter turnout among registered voters was the second-lowest in 40 years at less than just over 27%.

Several neighboring San Joaquin Valley counties saw turnout rates dip to their lowest points in more than 30 years:

• Kings County: 28.8% of 61,588 registered voters.

• Madera County: 34.5% of 71,961 registered voters.

• Tulare County: 24.7% of 206,819 registered voters.

Statewide, primary turnout was the second-lowest in 32 years at 32.7%. Still, that’s well above the low-water mark of just 25.2% in June 2014.

While few registered voters turned in ballots, Ingersoll said residents who did vote likely experienced a smooth election day in Merced County. “Voters were serviced and the election went well,” she said.

Merced County election results certified

Finalized election results officially confirm that Merced County will soon be getting a new District Attorney.

Challenger Nicole Silveira, 40, consistently led incumbent District Attorney Kimberly Helms Lewis, 51, since the first round of election results.

With nearly 70% of votes cast in her favor compared to Helms Lewis’s 30%, the Supervising Deputy District Attorney will take the reins of office in January.

The DA’s race was one of the most highly-anticipated races in Merced County this year, pitting Helms Lewis against one of her employees, Silveira. Helms Lewis won her seat to the DA’s Office in 2018, defeating Larry Morse II, becoming the first female DA in Merced County’s history.

In Merced County’ other big contested race for the role of Superintendent of Schools, incumbent Steve Tietjen maintained his gap ahead of challenger Alberto Perfirio Lopez Velarde.

Tietjen ultimately garnered about 58% of votes, while his opponent fell short at 41%.

The Merced River School District’s Measure T fell short of the 55% support it needed to pass. The measure gathered less than 25% support, while votes in opposition of the measure rose over 75%.

Two Merced County Board of Supervisors seats, as well as the roles of sheriff and tax collector, were also on the primary ballot. The incumbents for those races each ran uncontested.

Unofficial election results reported by the California Secretary of State’s office Tuesday show Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced, has fallen behind John Duarte, a Republican, in the 13th Congressional District race.

Support for Gray slipped to 31.1% of votes while Duarte ascended to 34.2%. The top two candidates, regardless of party, advance to the November midterm general election.

Fresno City Council member Esmeralda Soria, a Democrat, appears poised to face off in November against former Merced County Sheriff Mark Pazin, a Republican, in the 27th Assembly District race. Soria slipped slightly to holding 40.1% of votes Tuesday, ahead of Pazin’s 35%.

Why was turnout so low throughout California?

“There are several reasons turnout was low across the state and locally,” said Lisa Bryant, associate professor and chairperson of the Political Science Department at Fresno State, in an interview with the Fresno Bee. “Statewide there were very few obvious competitive elections, and the field of candidates for most statewide offices were largely unknown by most voters.”

“Even in the Governor’s race, the average voter probably couldn’t name the top challenger” to Democratic incumbent Gov. Gavin Newsom, Bryant added.

Low turnout isn’t unusual for off-year primary elections in which the U.S. presidency is not on the ballot. Turnout in November midterms is typically much higher than the corresponding primaries – an average of about 18 percentage points over the past 20 years, and reaching 25.2 percentage points higher in 2018.

The gap between primary and general elections is even more distinct in presidential election years.

The recent primary was also characterized by a lack of campaigning, due in part to the perceived lack of competitive races, Bryant said. That increases the cost and effort of obtaining information about a candidate higher for voters, meaning it takes more time and effort to learn about their platform, she added.

“And in many cases, there is very little information out there,” Bryant said. “Low-information elections lead to low voter turnout.”

Many voters may also have found themselves confronted by unfamiliar names after a redrawing many legislative districts, including major overhauls of some, following the 2020 Census. “New districts may have left some voters feeling uncertain or disconnected from the election,” Bryant said.

The Fresno Bee’s Tim Sheehan contributed to this report.