About 102,500 ballots remain to be counted in Fresno County, leaving several closely contested races unsettled and a potential path to passage for the county’s proposed transportation sales tax.

The outstanding ballots could prove decisive in races for Fresno City Council, Fresno Unified School Board, and a Fresno County Superior Court judgeship. But the countywide estimate does not establish how many ballots remain in each district.

The Fresno County elections office estimated 102,500 ballots remained to be processed as of Thursday, Nov. 5. That figure excludes additional eligible mail ballots and ballots that could be counted after voters resolve signature issues.

The next results update is scheduled for Tuesday before 5 p.m.

Narrow Leads Leave Several Races Open

Naindeep Singh leads Rob Fuentes by 199 votes in the Fresno City Council District 1 race, according to the county’s preliminary results posted Nov. 5.

Singh has 5,299 votes, or 50.96%, compared with Fuentes’ 5,100 votes, or 49.04%.

A relatively modest advantage among the remaining district votes could put Fuentes ahead. If another 5,000 votes are counted in the contest, Fuentes would need 2,600, or 52%, to overtake Singh.

An even narrower margin separates the candidates for Fresno Unified’s Sunnyside-area trustee seat.

Incumbent Valerie Davis leads Riley Talford by 77 votes, with 2,888 to Talford’s 2,811. If another 3,000 votes go to either candidate, Talford would need 1,539, or 51.3%, to move ahead.

In the countywide Superior Court Office 7 race, Jeff Hammerschmidt leads Jose L. Salazar by 2,811 votes, with 72,277 to Salazar’s 69,466.

If another 85,000 valid votes are counted in that contest, Salazar would need about 51.7% to overcome the deficit.

(Those calculations illustrate possible comeback scenarios. They are not estimates of the votes remaining in each race.)

Measure S Needs Stronger Late Support

Measure S, the proposed half-cent transportation sales tax, trails by 9,278 votes.

Opponents have 81,651 votes, or 53.01%, while supporters have 72,373, or 46.99%, according to the county’s preliminary results.

The measure requires a simple majority to pass.

If all 102,500 outstanding ballots contain a valid vote on Measure S, supporters would need about 54.5% of those votes to move ahead. If 95,000 ballots contain a valid vote on the measure, the required share rises to about 54.9%.

That would require a substantial improvement in the measure’s support over the ballots counted so far.

Other Contests Remain Close

In Fresno Unified’s McLane-area race, Karen Steed leads incumbent trustee Veva Islas by 387 votes and Mirna Garcia by 455. Steed has 1,952 votes, followed by Islas with 1,565 and Garcia with 1,497.

Central Unified’s Area 1 race also remains close, with John Nale leading Joshua Sellers by 116 votes.

Elsewhere, Bryan Ramirez leads John Trujillo by eight votes for Selma City Council District 2. Coalinga’s Measure J, a transient occupancy tax measure, leads by 11 votes, while Firebaugh’s Measure F, a parcel tax measure, has 66.17% support, just below its two-thirds requirement.

Larger advantages offer more protection against a reversal. Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco leads Fresno City Councilmember Mike Karbassi by 3,836 votes for county supervisor, incumbent Michele Cantwell-Copher leads former Clovis Unified superintendent Eimear O’Brien by 17,898 votes for county superintendent, and Fresno’s Measure D leads by 11,651 votes.

All results remain preliminary.

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