Alameda County Registrar of Voters

Early results from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters indicate that Kate Harrison is leading the Berkeley City Council special election with about 64 percent of the vote, suggesting that she will likely win the District 4 council seat.

The final unofficial tally showed that Davila had about 51 percent of the vote, compared to Moore’s approximately 49 percent after a round of ranked-choice voting redistributed Nanci Armstrong-Temple's votes.

At about 75 percent, Alameda County’s voter turnout for the 2016 elections was approximately 17 percent higher than the current national average and the county’s highest voter turnout since President Barack Obama’s 2008 election.

Sixteen- and 17-year-olds may soon be allowed to vote in Berkeley, making the city one of just a few in the country to allow them to do so.

As local elections approach in November, some are concerned about the perennial issue of low student engagement in Berkeley politics.

In Tuesday’s election, Alameda County saw a higher number of ballots submitted but a lower overall voter turnout than in the previous election year.

Voters currently residing in Alameda County can now drop off their vote-by-mail ballot at any time thanks to a new drop box, which is located in front of the Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center in Downtown Berkeley.

As of 12:45 a.m., Droste was ahead of three other District 8 hopefuls, with a 1.24-point lead over runner-up Mike Alvarez Cohen, chair of the city’s Zoning Adjustments Board. George Beier, president of the Willard Neighborhood Association, came in third with about 26 percent of the vote. Jacquelyn McCormick, head of the Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association, came in fourth with 18.9 percent of the vote.

In response to the city’s extended difficulties with drawing a new council district, Councilmember Jesse Arreguin submitted on Monday proposed ballot measures to transfer the power of redistricting from the Berkeley City Council to an independent commission.

UC Berkeley students and city residents turned out at the polls en mass Tuesday night to cast their vote, while just under half of Alameda County’s mail-in and provisional ballots continue to be tabulated.