Santa Clara County sees abysmal voter turnout

Last updated 5 p.m. on Monday. The next update will be 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Santa Clara County residents had a bevy of important, hotly contested elections to vote on, but few bothered to show up to the polls.

Only 33.34% of registered voters cast a ballot on election day, according to data from the Registrar of Voters updated Monday afternoon. In other words, 333,968 residents out of 1,001,791 cast a vote.

As of this afternoon, votes are still being tallied, with 94% processed so far. But election experts say this is likely the lowest turnout Santa Clara County has ever seen.

“This may be the lowest in history since they started keeping records in 1880,” retired San Jose State University political science professor Larry Gerston told San José Spotlight. “And the irony is California is about the easiest state to vote in.”

According to data on mail-in ballots from PDI Inc., roughly 49% of registered Black voters in Santa Clara County voted in Tuesday’s primary election, in addition to 44% of white voters and 33% of Asian voters. Latinos had the lowest turnout of any group with 27%.

About 60% of registered Santa Clara County voters over the age of 65 cast their ballots, followed by 41% of voters between the ages of 50 and 64. Only 29% of voters aged 35-49 voted on June 7, and only 21% of people aged 18-34 cast a ballot.

Michael Borja, a spokesperson for the Registrar of Voters, said as of Wednesday morning there were still 140,000 unprocessed ballots. He previously estimated 35-40% turnout based on past elections, but said primary midterm elections don’t usually see high numbers of people heading to the polls.

“There’s not a lot of high-profile candidates in the races,” Borja told San José Spotlight.

This year, voters had no shortage of important races to follow: San Jose is getting its first new mayor in eight years and the county its first new sheriff in over two decades; the district attorney faced his first contested reelection since assuming office in 2010; residents in redistricted Santa Clara County District 1 had the opportunity to vote for a new supervisor and half of San Jose’s City Council was at stake.

Gerston said several factors may have contributed to this outcome. He noted Santa Clara County voters might be fatigued on elections, having already voted in two since 2021. He pointed out it’s also not a presidential election year, which typically drives higher engagement, and there were no significant opponents challenging incumbents for state and federal offices. He suggested the county’s redistricting process may have confused some residents about who or what they were voting on.

Gerston said it was too early to speak to which candidates or measures benefited or suffered because of the low turnout.

“We know in low turnout elections poor people, people of color and young people aren’t as likely to vote as affluent whites,” Gerston said. “In other words, by not turning out, those who might benefit the most from public policies are leaving them in the hands of other people who may not have the same interest in looking out for those who need it.”

Data is still being collected, but turnout among Latino residents in Santa Clara County appeared to be very low. Maricela Gutierrez, executive director of SIREN, an immigration rights nonprofit group, told San José Spotlight her organization did grassroots campaigning and canvassing to get out the vote. She was astonished by how few Latino voters showed up to the polls.

“I think there are a lot of folks who are not as interested in the election,” Gutierrez said, noting working class families are struggling with more immediately pressing concerns, such as housing and job displacement.

With an eye on future elections, Borja said the county wants to increase voter engagement, especially among younger people. He said the Registrar of Voters is promoting election information through TikTok, Instagram and other social media platforms. His office is also starting a podcast.

Contact Eli Wolfe at [email protected] or @EliWolfe4 on Twitter.