UPDATE, 1:46 a.m.: Final Election Night Report! With Perhaps Half the Vote Counted, the Status Quo Looks Like a Lock in Eureka

Is this thing on? I assume it’s only me up at 1:30 in the morning, waiting for that Final Election Night Report. You’re probably reading this in the morning.

If so: Donald Trump will be the next president of these United States.

Back home in Humboldt County, we have counted 31,417 votes as of 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, and we’re calling it a night, it seems. Four years ago there were just over 60,000 votes cast in Humboldt County. In a sort of thumbnail kind of way, we can guesstimate that we’re about halfway there.

That said: Measure F, the pro-downtown-parking “Housing For All” Initiative, is doomed to fail, having garnered only 38.53 percent of the 5,660 votes tallied in that race so far.

Eureka City Council incumbents Katie Moulton and Scott Bauer seem ready to cruise to reelection, with 59 and 70 percent of the tallied vote, respectively. Those numbers were a touch higher in the first report, but they’ve steadied out since.

Measure O, the 1 percent countywide sales tax increase for road repair, is really solid, with 61.8 percent of the vote.

Arcata City Council incumbents Stacy Atkins-Salazar, Sarah Schaefer and Alex Stillman have pretty comfortable leads, though challenger Genevieve Serna is potentially within striking distance of Stillman.

Find Humboldt County’s Final Election Night Report here.

It’s gonna be a good long while before we get final-final results! The county Elections Office has somewhere in the neighborhood of a month to tally the remaining votes and get a report to the Board for certification. It will issue periodic updates between now and then.

Good night, and good luck.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 10:56 p.m.: Third Election Report! More Than Two Thousand More Votes Counted, Not Much Change in Eureka

About 2,300 more votes counted — 1,100 in Eureka — and it’s fairly static, at least in Eureka. See the Third Election Night Report here.

Measure F now has 31.8 percent of the vote, up 0.3 percentage points from the last report. In the Fourth Ward race, incumbent Scott Bauer now stands at 69.7 percent, and Second Ward incumbent Kati Moulton leads by a narrower margin, with 58.84 percent.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 8:29 p.m.: Ward 2 Eureka City Council Kenny Carswell is Kickin’ it at the 707 Bar

It’s a surprisingly quiet night over at Old Town’s 707 Bar where Second Ward candidate Kenny Carswell was awaiting election results with a small group of friends. He’s competing for the city council seat held by incumbent Kati Moulton.

Asked how he’s feeling about tonight’s election, Carswell said he’s optimistic and “really looking forward to being a voice for Eureka if elected.”

“I’ve just really enjoyed getting to dig deeper into local issues [during my campaign],” he told the Outpost. “I’ve had really good conversations while out talking to people in the neighborhood. Being someone that’s from here, it means a lot to me and I look forward to continuing to learn more.”

We’ll check back in later tonight!

— Isabella Vanderheiden

UPDATE, 9:44 p.m.: Eureka City Council Incumbents Gettin’ Down at North of Fourth with the “No on F” Campaign

Spirits are high at North of Fourth in Eureka where city council incumbents Kati Moulton (Ward 2) and Scott Bauer (Ward 4) are hosting a joint election party with the “No on F” campaign. As if things aren’t exciting enough, they’re even hosting trivia!

The incumbents are leading in both city council races, according to the second round of election results. Moulton is leading in the Ward 2 race with 60 percent of the vote, compared to Carswell’s 39 percent. Bauer is leading with 71 percent, to Syphanthong’s 28 percent. 

“I’m feeling humbled,” Bauer told the Outpost. “I just want to thank the residents of Ward 2 for giving me a chance to represent them for another four years.”

Similarly, Moulton said she’s feeling “very hopeful” about tonight’s results. “If nothing else, the people of Eureka have been very engaged through this entire election process,” she said. “So, whatever happens [with this election], it is going to be what the people of Eureka want to see happen.”

Both candidates were happy to see Measure F tanking, with Moulton happily saying, “Eureka is no-nonsense. We don’t like being bamboozled.”

— Isabella Vanderheiden

UPDATE, 9:18 p.m.: Arcata’s SeptenTRIO Feelin’ the Love

Film commissioner Cassandra Hesseltine laughs at Arcata Councilmember Alex Stillman’s wit and wisdom

Power retained! The wine is flowing up at Septentrio Winery where Arcata’s triumvirate of incumbent city councilmembers have gathered with supporters and friends to soak in the night’s political drama. Just before 8:30 p.m., a hush fell over the room as Mayor Meredith Matthews read off the first round of results released by the Humboldt County Office of Elections. The early ballots show councilmembers Alex Stillman, Sarah Schaefer and Stacy Atkins-Salazar with a comfortable-but-maybe-not-insurmountable lead over their nearest trailing competitor, political upstart Genevieve Serna. 

While doing the best to block out the national news, Stillman and Schaefer were understandably pleased and relieved by the evening’s developments.

“It looks like the incumbents are coming out on top,” Schaefer said. “I’m looking forward to another four years of great work in Arcata!”

“I think it’s exciting,” Stillman chimed in. “I always want to be helping out with thinking about the future of Arcata and to make it a better place.” 

Councilmember Atkins-Salazar

“Local politics look more interesting than national ones,” said councilmember and election map wrangler Sarah Schaefer. “But I’m looking forward to seeing what happens.”

— Andrew Goff

UPDATE, 9:12 p.m.: Second Election Night Report Released!

The Elections Office has just released its Second Election Night Report — find it here — with about 1,500 more votes counted. About 500 of those votes are in Eureka.

Measure F has gained a little bit — it now has about 31.5 percent of the vote, up from about 30. Likewise, the City Council races have narrowed a touch, with the Ward Two Moulton-Carswell race at 60-40 and the Ward Four Bauer-Syphanthong race at 71-28.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 8:55 p.m.: Elsewhere Around the Ballot

Again: This First Election Night Report contains something like a third of what you could reasonably expect the final vote to be, a month hence. With that…

The county’s Measure O — a one-cent sales tax to fund roads — is leading 62-38.

City sales tax measures are leading strongly in Arcata and Trinidad, but failing 56-44 in Fortuna.

Alan Bongio is way behind in his attempt to make a comeback to the Humboldt Commumity Services District. He has about 16 percent of the vote, and each of his three competitors have about 28. It’s a vote-for-three election.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 8:42 p.m.: Oh…

That full First Election Night Report is here, if you’re looking for it.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 8:39 p.m.: How Much Of The Eureka Vote Is Counted? Maybe About a Third, if Past Results Are Anything to Go By

Our last update said that about 4,000 ballots in the City of Eureka have been counted. 

What percent of the total is that? Well, it depends on how many people end up voting. But four years ago, in 2020, about 12,500 votes were cast in the city. So if that holds — and it should be fairly close — we’re looking at roughly a third of the eventual vote in Eureka already counted.

Measure F, which trailed by a 70-30 margin in the first round of results released tonight, is on very thin ice.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 8:31 p.m.: First Results! Eureka’s Measure F is Tanking Badly

The Humboldt County Elections Office just released its first set of results, which takes into account just under 22,000 ballots that were counted before polls closed.

The big takeaway is that Eureka’s Measure F is losing hard. With almost 4,000 Eureka votes counted, it’s down 40 percentage points — 70-30, as things stand.

Scott Bauer has about 72 percent of the vote in the Ward Four race, to Lucky Syphanthong’s 27. 

In Ward Two, Kati Moulton leads challenger Kenny Carswell with 63 percent to Carswell’s 37.

The Arcata incumbents all lead, with Genevieve Serna possibly in striking distance of Alex Stillman.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 7:54 p.m.: Thavisak “Lucky” Syphanthong’s Crew Turns Out at Chapala Café

Turning the anxious gaze away from the national polls for a moment…

Eureka’s city council candidates are gathering for election parties throughout Old Town. Ward 4 council candidate Thavisak “Lucky” Syphanthong is awaiting tonight’s election results alongside family and friends at Chapala Café.

“I’m feeling excited and happy – a lot of emotions at the same time,” Syphanthong told the Outpost. “This is my first time running for public office … I wish I had more time to do some things, like door knocking and more public events, but I got to meet a lot of neighbors and citizens of Eureka throughout my campaign. I started my campaign in August, I can’t believe it’s gone by so fast.”

We’ll check back in with Syphanthong when the first round of election results rolls in!

— Isabella Vanderheiden

UPDATE, 6:52 p.m.: Good God!

Video: Andrew Goff

In my 20+ years as a reporter in Humboldt County, I don’t ever think I’ve seen longer lines at a polling place than what you see at the Arcata Community Center right now.

Why is that? Did people not know to bring in their ballots from home? Did they just forget, or did they not bother? Very confusing. We all have to remember to do a better job with voter education.

In any case: If you’re in line by 8 p.m., wherever you are in Humboldt, you will get to vote. Don’t give up hope! Vote!

Gonna be a long night, probably.

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 5:42 p.m.: LONG LINES

Pretty long wait at the Elections Office right now, at least by Humboldt standards. Seems to be a good turnout election!

— Hank Sims

UPDATE, 4:22 p.m.: Waitin’ in Arcata

Photo: Melody Collver

Get in line, people! The queue to vote at the Arcata Community Center is currently stretching out of the gym and into the parking lot. There was reportedly a short delay in proceedings when poll workers ran out of ballot paper, but the appropriate materials have now been delivered.

Either way, if you plan to vote in the traditional manner, don’t forget your coat. 

— Andrew Goff

UPDATE, 12:34 p.m.: Chris Rogers Makes Election Day Stop at Los Bagels

California Assembly candidate Chris Rogers, who is touring through all five of District Two’s counties today,  made a stop at the Eureka Los Bagels.

For Election Day, Rogers is visiting Trinity, Del Norte, Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma counties in 24 hours. Last night, he hosted a happy hour at The Diggins in Weaverville and this morning he was at a cafe in Crescent City. He’s off to Ukiah and then Santa Rosa, where he plans on waiting out the election results.

At Los Bagels, Rogers talked with passers-by outside and served some bagels. 

“I’m just happy it’s Election Day,” Rogers said. “We feel good about [our chances], but if this district doesn’t go Democrat, that means there may be bigger problems. We may have lost Congress or maybe the presidency. This election is bigger than one race. We’ve done everything we need to do. Now we just wait.”

— Dezmond Remington

UPDATE, 10:29 a.m.: Early Morning Vandalism in Arcata, Where Voting Seems Brisk

Pro-Palestine, anti-voting graffiti popped up around Arcata polling stations and drop box locations this morning, including at grocery stores in the city. The Mad River Union has a report with photos. Police are investigating.

The defacement of the Arcata Community Center was all cleaned up by the time Outpost reporter Dezmond Remington arrived. But there was a line out the door of people waiting in line to vote, which was a perhaps a sign that more people are choosing to vote in-person than they did four years ago.

Your correspondent dropped a ballot off at the Jefferson Center this morning. They seemed to be doing pretty good business there as well. It was more active than I remember it being in 2020. No lines, though!

— Hank Sims