This year’s voter turnout in Contra Costa County dropped nearly 5 percent since the last midterm primary in 2018, according to new numbers released by the county elections department.
In the 2018 primary, Contra Costa residents cast 239,628 votes, which was 39.97 percent of 602,171 registered voters at the time.
In this year’s June 7 primary, county residents cast 247,512 votes, which was 35.05 percent of 706,257 eligible voters.
“Some things to consider when looking at the numbers are California just went through a recall election in September 2021,” said Deputy Clerk-Recorder Tommy Gong. “2018 was an open seat for Governor and 2014 was a year of dismal voter turnout.”
Contra Costa County Clerk-Recorder-Registrar Debi Cooper officially certified the results of the June 7 election Monday.
“Our elections team has been preparing for and administering elections nonstop since early 2021,” Cooper said in a statement. “We’ve conducted several special elections that overlapped with preparations for the primary election. I am proud of the incredible effort of our team and thankful for our temporary workers and volunteers who dedicated their time during a continuing pandemic to provide excellent service to our constituents.
“It is an honor to certify this well-run, transparent, and fair election,” Cooper said.
The county elections department completed the official counting of all qualified ballots and audited results “to assure our equipment performed as expected,” the statement said.
The canvass ensured four tasks: verifying every eligible ballot was counted, that voters only voted once, that proper procedures were followed on Election Day, and ensuring that the vote tabulation system properly counted ballots.