Poicon Edges Cox for Mountain View Council Seat
Erik Poicon moved into third place in the Mountain View City Council race after the latest vote count released Sunday.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Elections
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Erik Poicon pulled ahead of Robert Cox in the Mountain View City Council third-seat race, leading him by 145 votes after weekend vote counts. Cox dropped from third to fourth place as the count continued.
Why it matters
With 186,550 ballots still unprocessed countywide as of Sunday afternoon, the final order of the top candidates in this council race could still shift before results are settled. The outcome will determine who fills one of the seats on the Mountain View City Council.
The latest unofficial count shows Erik Poicon at 7,237 votes (15.08%) and Robert Cox at 7,092 votes (14.78%), with Silja Paymer at 7,301 votes (15.21%) holding second place. The Registrar of Voters estimated 186,550 ballots had yet to be processed, so the order of the top candidates remains unsettled.
The players
Erik Poicon
Candidate for the Mountain View City Council third seat who moved ahead of Robert Cox in the latest count.
Robert Cox
Candidate for the Mountain View City Council third seat who dropped to fourth place after leading on Election Night.
Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters
County office responsible for counting ballots and releasing election results in Santa Clara County.
The details
Poicon overtook Cox as the latest count was released over the weekend, while IdaRose Sylvester led most Mountain View precincts, including neighborhoods north of El Camino Real. Poicon's strongest precinct includes San Antonio, according to the extraction.
Timeline
November 3: Mountain View City Council election held, with Cox leading on Election Night.
November 8: Poicon pulled ahead of Cox in the weekend vote count.
November 9: The Registrar released an updated count at 5:03 p.m. Sunday.
December 11: State certification of election results is scheduled.
Political Context
Santa Clara County must certify results no later than one month after the election, and state certification is scheduled for December 11. Until those steps are complete, close local races like this one can still shift as the remaining ballots are counted.
Residents of Mountain View will not know who holds the third council seat until counting and certification are complete. Until then, the top candidates' positions can change as more ballots are processed.
The takeaway
Close races can take weeks to settle after Election Day, so readers should wait for certified results before treating any early standings as final. The remaining ballots in Santa Clara County will determine who wins the seat.
What happens next
Santa Clara County will certify the results no later than one month after the election, and state certification is scheduled for December 11.
Further reading
For more on how local races are decided, see Elections coverage across Mountain View.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Mountain View Voice.
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