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ELECTION UPDATE: South Lake Tahoe’s Measure T passing by 58 votes

A voter drops his ballot in the ballot box in South Lake Tahoe on Election Day 2018.
Ryan Hoffman / Tahoe Daily Tribune

With several thousand more ballots processed, a measure banning vacation rentals in South Lake Tahoe residential neighborhoods is still on its way to passing, according to the most recent election results.

Numbers just released by the El Dorado County Elections Department have 3,265 votes (50.45 percent) in favor of Measure T and 3,207 (49.55 percent) against — leaving 58 votes separating the two outcomes.

That actually represents a slight widening of the previous margin. Updated results released last Friday showed 25 votes — 2,345 in favor (51.23 percent) and 2,232 (48.77 percent) against — separating “yes” and “no.”

An additional 5,266 ballots countywide have been processed since that update last Friday.

Approximately 2,600 ballots countywide still need to be processed, according to Linda Webster, assistant registrar of voters for El Dorado County. Those are provisional and conditional ballots cast on Election Day.

It can take several days to process those ballots, according to Webster.

“That’s going to take us a good few days to work.”

Final election results must be submitted to the California Secretary of State’s Office by Dec. 7. As for whether it is taking longer to process election results, Webster said this year is no different than previous elections.

There are processes and rules that must be followed when processing ballots, she explained.

“It’s not any different than any other election … it just takes time,” she said.

Measure T made its way onto the ballot after a successful citizen-led petition effort. The question asked voters if they wanted to eliminate vacation home rentals outside the tourist core and commercial areas in three years.

Full-time residents would have the ability to rent out their home up to 30 days per year. Any future changes would need to be put to a vote of the people.

As previously reported, the measure generated a great deal of interest and was top of mind for some local voters Tuesday.

Leading up to Election Day, the effort to defeat Measure T garnered hundreds of thousands of dollars, much of which came from large groups and companies including the National Association of Realtors.

South Lake Tahoe City Council

The top three will sit on council starting in December.

Devin Middlebrook — 3,081 (19.01 percent)

Cody Bass — 2,844 (17.54 percent)

Tamara Wallace — 2,368 (14.61 percent)

Wendy David (incumbent) — 2,024 (12.49 percent)

Hal Cole — 1,566 (9.66 percent)

Bruce Grego — 1,558 (9.61 percent)

Tom Davis (incumbent) — 1,269 (7.83 percent)

Austin Sass (incumbent) — 823 (5.08 percent)

Patrick Jarrett — 626 (3.86 percent)

El Dorado County District 5 Supervisor

Sue Novasel (incumbent) — 6,473 (53.11 percent)

Kenny Curtzwiler — 5,661 (46.44 percent)

South Tahoe Public Utility District Board

The top three will serve on the five-member board.

Nick Exline — 5,093 (24.04 percent)

Chris Cefalu — 3,690 (17.41 percent)

Jim Jones —  3,375 (15.93 percent)

Duane Wallace — 3,147 (14.85 percent)

Eric Schafer — 3,113 (14.69 percent)

Louis Pierini — 2,699 (12.74 percent)

South Lake Tahoe City Clerk

Susan Blankenship — 3,207 (60.53 percent)

Ellen Palazzo — 2,069 (39.05 percent)

UPDATE: This story has been updated to include results from other races and input from Linda Webster.

BREAKING: This is a breaking news story. It will be updated.


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