Monitors observing Election Day activities in Fresno said Tuesday that things appear to be running normal.

Observers at the federal, state and local levels watched in person as voting took place at Fresno centers.

Election Day on Tuesday marks the conclusion of the Proposition 50 statewide election. Voters will decide whether to amend the state Constitution to allow redrawing congressional maps six years ahead of schedule.

The Prop. 50 maps were drawn by Democratic Party insiders as a reaction to Republican-led gerrymandering in other states. The Democrats’ goal in California is to pick up at least four congressional districts in the 2026 mid-terms.

Tuesday morning, Douglas Fulmer of the Fresno City Attorney’s Office observed activity at the downtown election headquarters. He said the process was running smoothly.

“Everything is going well from what I’ve seen which is what we want to hear. That’s what the people of Fresno want,” Fulmer said.

Richardson Aide: ‘Election Staff a Well-Oiled Machine’

At the Woodward Park Regional Library, two California Department of Justice representatives were on hand around 11 a.m. Neither would speak on the record. Sitting next to them was Nicole DeMera, chief of staff for Fresno City Councilmember Nick Richardson, who said she observed nothing unusual.

DeMera said election staff was running a “wonderful, well-oiled machine.”

Federal monitors are scheduled to observe at the Woodward Park Regional Library in the afternoon, a spokesperson told GV Wire. They also plan to be at the election warehouse to observe vote counting on Wednesday.

Other groups, including Kiwanis and the California Democratic Party, sent monitors on Tuesday.

Kus: Most Results Tonight

Through Monday, 139,432 voters had returned ballots, according to the Fresno County Clerk.

Fresno County Clerk/Registrar of Voters James Kus said mailed ballots that arrived by Sunday, as well as all voting center ballots, will be counted Tuesday night. The first results will be available shortly after polls close at 8 p.m.

The next update will be Thursday at about 5 p.m. Kus expects at least 95% of votes to be counted by the Nov. 12 update. Another update will be released Nov. 14.

Why not daily updates? Efficiency said Kus.

“When we get a vote-by-mail ballot, it takes time to go through that process,” Kus said. He said it takes two days to process a ballot.

“We could do daily updates, but instead of providing 20,000 or 30,000, we’d be providing 10,000 to 15,000 in dribs and drabs as we went along. And every time we do an update, we have to stop our tabulation process, and that’s hours lost,” Kus said.

After public criticism, Kus added a voting center for Tuesday in Mendota. Kus initially said because of the short election schedule and staffing, no voting center in the west Fresno County community would be available. Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez and Fresno County Supervisor Brian Pacheco helped arrange for use of the Mendota library, and recruit staff — a mix of county and city staff.

“Because they were able to get those people in for training, which I conducted myself yesterday, we have trained staff in the field, and they’ll be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today,” Kus said.

Soria Makes Argument in Favor

Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, stood outside the downtown voting office with her husband, Terance Frazier, filming a message encouraging people to vote. She said voting was easy for her.

Soria supported Prop. 50, citing the need for checks and balances against President Donald Trump’s “draconian” policies, such as cuts to health care.

“Voters have the power to decide whether they support Prop. 50 or not. And Prop. 50, in my opinion, gives us a fighting chance,” Soria said.

Soria said there isn’t anything wrong with the current maps, drawn in 2021 by the independent California Citizens Redistricting Commission based on U.S. Census data.

“It gives us the opportunity to decide whether we want changes in the maps that make these seats a bit more competitive,” Soria said.

She doesn’t anticipate another Prop. 50-type election after the lines are redrawn in 2031.

What Fresno State’s Coach Said About Voting

Fresno State football coach Matt Entz said he has not paid attention to the election.

“I don’t really know what’s going on in the world besides what happens between the white lines. I don’t do a great job. If I’m not with my team, I’m spending time with my wife and my puppy. Otherwise, I’m trying to turn it off,” Entz said at his news conference Monday.

He did encourage his players to be models for the community.

Records show Entz is registered to vote in Fresno as a Republican.