SACRAMENTO, Calif — As more vote-by-mail ballots are counted in the Sacramento mayoral race, around 700 votes separate first from fourth place.
The leading candidate is Richard Pan separated by only 349 votes from Flojaune 'Flo' Cofer who is now in second after the latest numbers were released. Cofer and Steven Hansen — who is currently in third — are battling it out to see who will get on the November ballot with only 196 votes separating the two.
It's been a close race so far. After the final report on election night, only a few hundred votes separated the top candidates in the Sacramento mayoral race. The first wave of ballots favored Richard Pan, Steve Hansen and Kevin McCarty. Flojaune "Flo" Cofer was in fourth. Only four votes separated Pan and Hansen.
Friday's drop: 19.93% of ballots
- Pan: 12,495 votes (23.93%)
- Cofer: 12,146 votes (23.26%)
- Hansen: 11,950 votes (22.89%)
- McCarty: 11,790 votes (22.58%)
- Avina: 3,316 votes (6.35%)
- Engel: 516 votes (0.99%)
Six Sacramento mayoral candidates qualified for the March 5 Primary ballot. The top two vote-getters will advance to the General Election in November unless one candidate gets more than 50% of the vote.
The next vote count update for Sacramento County is scheduled for Tuesday, March 12.
Current Mayor Darrell Steinberg announced last year he will not seek a third term, so he will finish out his current term and step aside at the end of the year.
Votes will continue to be counted in the next few weeks. Vote-by-mail ballots have to be postmarked by March 5 and arrive at the county election office by March 12. The last day for county elections offices to certify the election results is April 4.
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► Key Dates: According to the California Secretary of State’s office, the last day for county election officials to certify the primary election results is April 4