Monterey Bay Voters Cast Ballots in General Election
Polls closed across California on November 3, 2026, with initial tabulation totals in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties expected shortly after 8 p.m.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Voters in the Monterey Bay area cast ballots in the 2026 General Election, with polls closing across California. Election officials in Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Benito counties planned to release initial tabulation totals shortly after 8 p.m., including early in-person votes and vote-by-mail ballots processed up to Election Day or a few days prior.
Why it matters
The early returns give California residents an initial read on local and statewide contests, while the counts that follow will determine final outcomes. Voters interviewed in Marina cited local and statewide concerns, including Proposition 40, the billionaire tax, as factors in their participation.
Preliminary totals include early in-person votes and vote-by-mail ballots processed up to Election Day or a few days prior, with Santa Cruz County refreshing every 90 minutes and Monterey County refreshing hourly after a 10 p.m. update. Ballots not yet processed at the time of each release remain outside the reported figures.
The players
Brian Larkins
Brian Larkins is a Monterey resident who said the wealth tax was one of the issues that brought him out to vote in the 2026 General Election.
Mitzi Camacho
Mitzi Camacho is a lifelong Marina resident who considered which mayoral candidate would cater more to locals than to transplants.
The details
Voters dropped off ballots at the Marina Community Center and completed and returned ballots by mail or in person in the Monterey Bay area. Marina resident Brian Larkins said the wealth tax was one of the issues that brought him out to vote, while Mitzi Camacho said she considered which mayoral candidate would cater more to locals than to transplants.
Timeline
November 3, 2026: 2026 General Election polls closed in California.
Shortly after 8 p.m.: Initial tabulation totals released by county election officials.
10 p.m.: Monterey County provides another results update.
Political Context
Voter Brian Larkins cited the billionaire tax as a reason he turned out, reflecting how Proposition 40 is drawing attention in Monterey Bay alongside local mayoral races. Opposition and support for the measure were not detailed in the extraction, so its broader counter-arguments remain unstated here.
Voters in California can expect local and statewide results to be updated through the night as counties release totals on a rolling schedule. Residents whose ballots were not yet processed at the time of early releases will see their votes reflected only in later updates.
The takeaway
Watching the rolling county updates is the clearest way to follow how the Monterey Bay results develop, since early totals will shift as later ballots are counted. Checking the final certified numbers before drawing conclusions avoids reading too much into the first release.
Further reading
Explore more on Elections coverage across California.
Source note: This article includes information reported by 90.3 KAZU.
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