The Uncalled Races

By Jim Ellis

Nov. 15, 2016 — The state of Michigan, in the presidential race, and both CA-7 and CA-49 remain uncalled. The reasons for the long delay in finalizing the tallies are detailed below.

The unofficial final Michigan election totals stand at 2,279,210 for Donald Trump and 2,267,373 for Hillary Clinton, a difference in the Republican’s favor of 11,837 with all votes received and counted. The state has not declared even an unofficial winner because a re-count can still be requested. Under Michigan procedure, elections within a percentage point are not called unless the re-count options are exhausted.

This week, as in virtually every state, the official county canvasses are beginning, in which tabulations in the 83 counties are verified and readied for official certification. Once the numbers are confirmed, the election results will be finalized for all Michigan elections held Nov. 8. Should Trump maintain his lead, his national electoral vote total will swell to 306 versus Hillary Clinton’s 232.

In California, votes are still being received. The Golden State, similar to the procedure used in Washington, allows mailed ballots to be postmarked on Election Day. The other two states that rely totally or heavily on mailed ballots, Oregon and Colorado, require the votes to be received on Election Day. This year, the CA deadline for receiving the ballots was moved, because of the Veterans Day holiday on Nov. 11, to yesterday, Nov. 14.

Because more than half of the California votes are mailed, and counting of those ballots doesn’t begin until after Election Day voting concludes, the tabulation process can go on for days, if not weeks.

Right now, the California tallied count stands at 10,094,039 according to official Secretary of State reporting, last updated at 10:58 am PST on Nov. 14. The state is estimating that more than 4.3 million ballots remain to be counted.

Considering so many ballots are outstanding, it is surprising that only two congressional races remain undecided. This includes a projection in the double-Democrat open 44th District result that shows Hermosa Beach City Councilwoman Nanette Barragan (D) upsetting state Sen. Isadore Hall (D) with less than 51 percent of the vote. With more than one million outstanding votes in Los Angeles County, it seems that enough ballots could remain in this district to change the outcome, but apparently not.

In Sacramento County’s uncalled 7th District race, Rep. Ami Bera (D), no stranger to close finishes, is again in a tight political overtime battle. The congressman has 103,831 votes (50.6 percent) compared to Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones’ (R) 101,248 (40.4 percent). The Secretary of State estimates that 194,810 ballots remain to be counted in Sacramento County, possibly as many as 85-90,000 of those in the 7th District. Therefore, the race can still go either way.

In San Diego County, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Vista) finds himself in a similar almost deadlocked situation. In his 49th District, Issa has 109,838 votes (50.7 percent) compared to retired Marine Colonel Doug Applegate’s (D) 106,967 (49.3 percent). With more than 600,000 ballots remaining in San Diego County, it is conceivable that as many as 90-100,000 votes are from District 49.

In addition to the pair of California races, the final two undecided House contests are in Louisiana Dec. 10 run-offs. The Republicans are sure to win District 3, because the finalists in that seat both carry the GOP label. In the Shreveport anchored 4th CD, Democrat J. Marshall Jones Jr. and Republican state Rep. Mike Johnson are battling in the run-off. Since 70 percent of the people voted for a Republican in the jungle primary on Nov. 8, Johnson becomes the favorite for the seat on Dec. 10.

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