Wait times reached upwards of 30 minutes on Election Day at the South Natomas Library prompting midday warnings about wait times by county officials. / Photo NatomasBuzz.com
BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
Incumbent Micah Grant is leading a 10-way race for three seats on the Natomas Unified School District school board.
Early this morning Grant was leading the pack with 17.77% of the votes in early returns, followed by incumbent Dr. Susan Heredia, who currently has 16.95% of the votes counted.
With an estimated 359,244 ballots left to process, Sacramento County officials said local election results will not be final for at least two weeks. Projected voter turnout is about 80% countywide — a Sacramento County record, according to a county spokesperson.
Grant said Wednesday that he was both “humbled and astonished” by his early lead, but added that his campaign will wait until election results are official before declaring victory. Grant was first elected to the Natomas school board in what was also a tight race in 2016.
“I would rather be in this position than any other position,” said Grant. “It’s incredible.”
Preliminary results for Natomas Unified school board race as of 1 a.m. on Nov. 4.
Heredia, a Natomas school board member since 2000, currently trails Grant by 268 votes.
In what could be a battle for the third Natomas school board seat, incumbent Scott Dosick has 12.87% of the votes counted to date and first-time candidate Ericka Harden has 12.07%. Only 260 votes separate the two candidates with thousands of ballots yet to be processed.
The next vote count update is set for 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6.
“I know I won’t catch Micah or Sue, but I still have a great shot at this,” said Harden. “I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”
Former school board member Teri Burns and first-time candidate Ericka Harden hold up signs near the entrance of the NP3 High School vote center in Natomas on Wednesday. / Photo NatomasBuzz.com
Dosick was first elected to the Natomas school board in 2012 in what was also a close race between 10 candidates.
“Much like with the national race, the voters have spoken, we just don’t know what they’ve said,” said Dosick. “I’m grateful to the thousands of voters who supported my reelection and look forward to seeing the results on Friday and in the weeks to come.”
First-time school board candidates Mariana Corona Sabeniano (9.23%), Monica Barrios (7.9%), Christopher Alvarez (7.57%), Sumiti Mehta (7.14%), Lisa Wells (5.28%), and RayNette Johnson (3.23%) round out the preliminary race results to date.
In August 2020 there were 44,987 registered voters within the Natomas Unified School District boundaries. Each voter was allowed up to three votes in the Natomas school board race on Election Day, however early ballot returns show 16,038 undervotes.
An undervote occurs when the number of choices selected by a voter in a contest is less than the maximum number allowed for that contest. Past Natomas school board races have been swayed, in part, by undervotes.
County employees collect ballots dropped off at the South Natomas Library on Wednesday. / Photo NatomasBuzz.com
Anecdotally, voters turned up at Natomas in-person polls sites in droves on Election Day, prompting Sacramento County Elections officials to issue an midday alert about lines and wait times at the South Natomas Library, Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs, and University of Phoenix.
Vanessa Caigoy doesn’t live in Natomas, but dropped off her mail-in ballot on Wednesday at the North Natomas Library.
“I have never missed an election since I’ve been able to vote,” said Caigoy. “It’s my civic duty.”
Voter traffic was reported to be light at NP3 High School and steady at the North Natomas Library, Natomas Charter School and Heritage Park vote centers throughout the day.
“We worked extremely hard. We didn’t leave any stone unturned. We were going to people where they lived and talking to them,” said Grant. “We really had conversations and I think that really made the difference so far.”
Incumbent Dr. Susan Heredia and first-time school board candidate Mariana Corona Sabeniano hold signs near the North Natomas Library vote center on Election Day. / Photo NatomasBuzz.com
[…] to Sacramento County election results updated Friday afternoon, incumbent Micah Grant’s Election Day lead continues to widen as ballots are counted. Grant is now 1,361 votes ahead of second place finisher Dr. Susan […]