THURSDAY NOVEMBER 5 UPDATE — COUNTY REPORTING SCHEDULE. The Times of San Diego’s November 5, 10:37 a.m. local election report says San Diego County’s next official vote update is expected by 6 p.m. Pacific Thursday, November 5, followed by updates Friday, November 6 and Monday, November 9. The source currently displays November 4 county results, not a verified new Thursday total. California58’s 540,000 outstanding-ballot figure below is the county’s earlier November 4 projection and must not be mistaken for the number still outstanding after the scheduled Thursday count. Countywide ballot estimates cannot be allocated to the San Marcos mayor race or any particular council district.
Earlier November 4 ballot processing and close races
SAN DIEGO COUNTY, California — November 5, 2026. The November 3 election’s early ballots are still only part of the countywide result. San Diego election officials and local reporting estimated that roughly 540,000 ballots remained outstanding in the November 4 reporting period, even after more than 765,000 ballots had been received or counted in the county’s initial reports. The scale of the remaining count matters for races in San Diego, Chula Vista, San Marcos, Escondido and other communities.
What the county’s first post-election estimate means
According to KPBS’s November 4 report, county Registrar of Voters Shawn Brom said election staff counted ballots through the night. The election office showed over 765,000 ballots received and a projected 540,000 still outstanding as of November 4. An independent North County breakdown cites 766,723 votes counted at its reporting time, including 657,497 vote-by-mail and 109,226 vote-center ballots. Because these are sourced at slightly different times, readers should not present the two figures as one exact reconciled accounting.
Long lines and same-day registrations
KPBS reported that approximately 90,000 people voted at county vote centers on Election Day, including about 13,000 voters who registered and voted at the same time. The registrar said some sites, especially college-campus vote centers, had prolonged lines, and some eligible voters remained in line after 8 p.m. Election Day. Long lines are an election-administration issue worth reviewing, but they do not in themselves identify how any particular person voted.
San Marcos: an early 36-vote mayoral gap
In the first published results, Sharon Jenkins held 10,781 votes against 10,745 for Mike Sannella, a 36-vote lead. California58 has a separate San Marcos mayoral article with the time of that snapshot. Citywide outstanding ballots cannot be calculated simply by applying the countywide 540,000 figure to San Marcos.
San Marcos District 2: eight votes in a different electorate
In a separate San Marcos City Council District 2 race, Justin Matsushita was reported eight votes ahead of Lindsey Smith in an earlier November 4 result. Our District 2 election report explains that this is not the mayoral vote. The countywide backlog does not tell reporters how many additional District 2 ballots are pending.
Other cities have different contests
California58 has already published specific local reports on the Chula Vista mayoral election, the Escondido District 2 council election and the San Diego City Council districts. Each race has distinct boundaries and its own ballot population. Broad county totals should supplement — not replace — the individual local results.
How California’s canvass works
Late-arriving eligible mail ballots, provisional votes, conditional-voter-registration ballots and other valid ballots must be checked and counted before certification. A media report of 100% of precincts does not prove that this work is complete. California law sets December 3 as the county final-results deadline and December 11 for statewide certification. The San Diego County Registrar’s results explainer provides context on the reporting stages.
Source cutoff: November 4 reporting from KPBS and North County Pipeline; article prepared November 5. All counts are provisional estimates and unofficial returns, not certified outcomes.
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