Friday update
Merced County election workers processed more than 7,400 ballots since Thursday, and there are still over 25,400 ballots left to go, according to the Merced County Registrar of Voter’s unprocessed ballot report posted on Friday.
The remaining ballots include more than 20,000 vote-by-mail ballots.
The report shows over 2,000 of the ballots left to process are conditional voter registration provisional ballots – meaning potential new voters, or those registering for the first time in Merced County.
Melvin Levey, Merced County Registrar of Voters, said those numbers have become the “new normal” for newly registered voters in California counties with a University of California campus, such as Santa Cruz, Yolo and Riverside.
Of the 2,000 conditional voter registration provisional ballots in Merced, over 700 of them came from the UC Merced vote center, Levey said.
“It’s not to say all of our numbers are UC students, but clearly having a UC campus pushes those numbers up,” he said.
Ballot processing has been quicker this election cycle because the elections office has additional staff and equipment, Levey said.
The registrar’s office will post the next update of unofficial results no later than 5 p.m. on Tuesday.
So far, over 50,000 ballots have been processed.
The latest batch of results didn’t necessarily give big pushes to any candidates in notable Merced County races.
In the race for Merced County Superintendent of Schools, Ana Boyenga’s lead grew to 860 votes over competitor Richard Lopez, or 50.97% compared to Lopez’s 49.03%.
Merced City Council races
Two Merced City Council incumbents continued to trail their challengers Friday, with just 62 votes separating candidates in the District 6 race.
John G. Bliss Jr. led incumbent Fue Xiong with 1,519 votes, or 43.02%, compared with Xiong’s 1,457 votes, or 41.26%. The third candidate, Yader Zeledon, received 547 votes, or 15.49%. District 6 includes Merced’s northern most neighborhoods and UC Merced.
Bliss previously ran for the same council seat in 2018, losing to Delray Shelton by just six votes. During election night, Bliss said he was unsure what to expect as more ballots were counted.
In south Merced’s District 2, challenger Felipe Rojas-Flores extended his lead over appointed incumbent Yang Pao Thao. Rojas-Flores received 828 votes, or 56.75%, compared with Thao’s 620 votes, or 42.49%, a difference of 208 votes.
Meanwhile, District 4 Councilmember Shane Smith, who ran unopposed, received 3,247 votes, or 96.01%.
Thursday update
Ever since UC Merced opened in 2005, there has been speculation about how long it would take for Bobcats to start taking the reins of leadership in Merced County.
Sure, there have been UC Merced graduates who’ve served in local government before, but Merced County’s never had a graduate Bobcat as mayor of a city.
That changed this week. Japjeet Singh Uppal was elected to become the next mayor of the City of Livingston. He declared victory late Wednesday over his City Council colleague Jason Roth, garnering a whopping 65% of the vote.
At age 24 years old, Uppal, who was elected to the City Council in Nov. 2024, will also be the youngest mayor among Merced County’s six incorporated cities.
“I do think it’s a testament to the opportunity the school is creating,” Uppal, who graduated from UC Merced in 2023 with a bachelor’s degree in public health, told The Merced FOCUS. He also holds a masters degree in public policy and administration from University of Redlands.
“It’s cool to be able to promote UC Merced,” he added, saying the impact the university has on the Valley region is sometimes under appreciated.
Just a few months ago, Uppal ran unsuccessfully in the June primary for Assembly District 27. He came in third place with 16.3% of the vote. Democrat Brian Pacheco, who sits on the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, declared victory in the general election this week, defeating Republican Mike Murphy, a former mayor of Merced.
The latest results from the California Secretary of State have Pacheco far ahead of Murphy, 63.5% to 36.5% respectively.
Although the Livingston mayor’s seat is nonpartisan, there is no denying that Uppal is part of a wave of young Democrats who are making their presence known.
Uppal describes himself as a “populist progressive” who campaigned during the primary on “taking money out of politics to ensure representatives are responsible to everyday people, not billionaires and private corporations.”
Talking about the “blue wave” of Democrats elected nationwide and in California, Uppal said “I think people are excited about a new energy and a new shift,” adding that voters are excited to “take a chance on a new group” to clear out the known bad actors of the past.
“We truly had a political earthquake on Tuesday,” Uppal said.
In the meantime, Uppal said over the next few weeks he’s going to be thinking about creative ways to increase community engagement, particularly in regard to getting more young people involved.
There’s also a good chance Uppal won’t be rolling solo on the council dais.
His brother Parwinder Singh Uppal is currently leading a field of four candidates seeking to fill two seats on Livingston City Council. Parwinder has 35% of the vote, compared to candidates Terika Degraw (29%), longtime incumbent Gurpal Samra (24%) and Mohinder Kanda (11%)
Some races still too close to call
Merced County Registrar of Voters Melvin Levey told The Merced FOCUS there are still 32,000 votes left to count. The next results are expected to be released by his office by 5 p.m. Friday.
That means there are still races where a relatively small number of votes could make a big difference.
One of the most closely-watched races is Merced County Superintendent of Schools, where only 715 votes separate front-runner Ana Boyenga from Richard Lopez.
Lopez currently serves as superintendent of the Merced River Union Elementary School District in Winton, while Boyenga is assistant superintendent at Atwater Elementary School District.
Another big local race that could go down to the wire is Merced City Council District 6. John Bliss is ahead of incumbent Fue Xiong, but only by 40 votes.
Bliss, who knows something about close races, is hoping history doesn’t repeat itself. He ran against Delray Shelton for the same seat, losing by a mere six votes.
Wednesday update
It was a steady stream of voters at some polls throughout Merced County on Tuesday, followed by crowds of folks looking to cast their ballot in the final hours of Election Day.
Merced County’s last ballot was cast at UC Merced around 11:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Merced County Registrar of Voters Melvin Levey reported.
Voters were still in line at the Merced County Administration Building in central Merced Tuesday night after polls closed at 8 p.m. – with people lining up in their cars to drop off their ballots.
At UC Merced, roughly 50 voters were still waiting in line as of 10:46 p.m. Vote centers at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Christian Life Center and Los Banos Community Center also had a handful of voters waiting past 10 p.m. Atwater Community Center had a large turnout, with county officials estimating it was the busiest polling station in the county.
By the end of Tuesday, Rep. Adam Gray, D-Merced, appeared well-positioned to serve another two years in Congress, holding a healthy lead over his opponent Kevin Lincoln, R-Stockton.
By Wednesday afternoon, Gray had declared victory over his Republican opponent, with about 61% of the vote to Lincoln’s 39%, according to the Secretary of State.
In other big races:
In California’s Assembly 27th District race, Democrat Brian Pacheco has a big lead over Republican Mike Murphy, 63% to 37% respectively, according to California Secretary of State.
Pacheco declared victory over Murphy around 10 p.m. Tuesday.
“I’m honored that the voters across Merced, Fresno, and Madera Counties chose me to fight for them in Sacramento. I am going to Sacramento for one thing only – to fight for the Valley’s fair share and get things done. That is what my campaign and my career in public service have always been about,” Pacheco said in a statement.
“Thank you to every volunteer, supporter, and voter who made tonight possible. I also want to thank Congressman Adam Gray, our new State Senator Esmeralda Soria, and Assembly Speaker Rivas for their unwavering support. I want to congratulate Mike Murphy for a hard-fought race. To those who supported him, I will work just as hard for you because everyone in the Central Valley deserves financial relief, reliable water and safer neighborhoods.”
California Senate 14 –– Democrat Esmeralda Soria has a big lead over Republican Darin DuPont, 64% to 36% respectively. As of 9 p.m. Tuesday, she had already declared victory over her opponent.
“The trust voters have placed in me once again to fight for them in Sacramento is humbling and incredibly energizing. I’m so proud of what we have accomplished for our communities – safer drinking water, protecting access to healthcare, and more economic opportunity – but there is so much more to do.”
“The Central Valley deserves a real voice in Sacramento and tonight, voters chose me, the daughter of farm workers, to be that voice,” Soria said in a statement. “I’m incredibly grateful to the voters, the donors, my staff and other supporters who made this happen. I’m ready to take on this new role as the Senator for District 14 and look forward to turning campaign promises into California policies.”
Merced County Superintendent of Schools — Ana Boyenga leads over Richard Lopez by a narrow margin, 51% to 49% respectively.
Measure B — Merced’s proposed one-cent sales tax, which would require a simple majority to pass, has nearly 58% support.
Merced Fire Union members are feeling excited about the early results, said union president Austin Johnson.
“I think ultimately the community understood the needs of the city and they’re willing to pay extra to hopefully maintain fire staffing and also have nicer things throughout the city,” Johnson said.
Mayor Matthew Serratto said it is surprising to see support leading as much as it is.
“It’s really a testament to the desire to see Merced do better and improve,” Serratto said.
While the results have not been finalized yet, Ashley Marie Suarez, a policy advocate at Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability, said it’s looking likely the measure will pass. She hopes there’s an opportunity for public input moving forward.
“I hope local elected officials take the initiative and time to listen to all the things the community has said in the past,” Marie Suarez said, to fund housing programs, tenant programs and youth programs.
Merced City Council — In District 2, incumbent Yang Pao Thao is trailing behind challenger Felipe Rojas-Flores, 43.57% to 55.71%. In District 6, John Bliss is ahead of incumbent Fue Xiong, 43.43% to 41.13%. In that race, Yader Zeledon trails behind with 14.13%.
Bliss leads Xiong by a mere 56 votes. “I don’t know what to think, because I lost in 2018 by six votes,” Bliss said during a watch party at a local restaurant. “You never know who votes and when they vote, and I don’t know. I knocked on doors until 6 o’clock tonight. So we’ll see how it goes.”
Zeledon said he was waiting for more results to come in before giving up on the race.
“I’m waiting for more ballots to be counted before making any decision about conceding,” he said, thanking his supporters and family. ”At the end of the day, I feel like I’ve already won on a personal level just by putting myself out there for the community I love. Regardless of the outcome, I’m proud I took this step and thankful for everyone who stood beside me. Merced is my home, and my commitment to our community will continue, no matter what.”
Merced Community College District Board races — In Area 4, Rich Randall has a big lead over Mary Camper, 61.23% to 31.23% respectively. In Area 5, incumbent Joe Gutierrez leads Sarai Jimenez-Robertson, 66.39% to 33.13% respectively. In Area 7, incumbent John Pedrozo leads Bob Geyer, 56.82% to 42.70% respectively.
Atwater mayor — Incumbent Mike Nelson will prevail over challenger Roberto Montes-Yepez, 67% to 32% respectively.
Livingston mayor — Japjeet Singh Uppal has a big lead over his city council rival Jason Roth, 65% to 35% respectively. “Preliminary results are positive. Lot of ballots left to count, we hope to see it continue,” Uppal said in a text message to The FOCUS.
Livingston City Council — Longtime incumbent Gurpaul Samra is currently in third place (24%) out of four candidates looking to fill two council seats. He trails behind Parwinder Singh Uppal (35%) and Terika Degraw (29%). Mohinder Kanda trails behind with 11%.
5 p.m. Tuesday
Valley voters headed to the polls Tuesday as officials noted smooth and steady turnout across the region as ballots were cast in the consequential midterm election which will shape the future of local, state and federal governments.
Residents started making their way to voting centers across the county at 7 a.m. Tuesday. This election San Joaquin Valley voters will help choose California’s next governor, settle 14 statewide propositions and determine the balance of the U.S. House of Representatives among other races.
In Merced County, voting is going “swimmingly,” according to local officials.
“Voting centers are moving smoothly, voters are getting out to vote,” Merced County Registrar of Voters Melvin Levey said.
He said the county voting system is “incredibly secure” and additional staff and equipment have been brought in to handle returns.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the county has received more than 22,000 ballots since doors opened in the morning since doors opened in the morning. County officials expect ‘significantly more’ throughout Election Day.
“We had really strong return rates early on. When it’s all said and done after today, I think we’ll see a turnout factor that is much higher than 2022,” Levey said.
According to Levey, about 36,000 mail in ballots had been processed Sunday night.
Traffic at many many voting centers around Merced waswas slow during the day during the day, with higher turnout at UC Merced, Levey said.
Retiree Connie Pacheco voted in-person at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church in northern Merced, despite feeling under the weather.
“It was important to me to get out and make my voice count,” Pacheco said. “It’s our duty.”
Pacheco said she is feeling “hopeful and optimistic” for the election results. She said the most important issues for her are Social Security and taxes.
“Hopefully it makes a difference locally.” Pacheco said. “But I’m waiting for the big (presidential) one. I’m hoping something changes because our economy, everything is terrible.”