SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The race for the District 1 seat on the County Board of Supervisors is posed for a runoff election this summer.
ABC 10News has been tracking the results from the Registrar's office. They show Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre as the top two candidates.
15.4% of registered voters in the district voted in the election on Tuesday for an estimated $3.3 million election.
That's, of course, not cheap.
Cynthia Paes, the Registrar of Voters, said a lot of money goes to manpower.
"Increase the number of staff," said Paes. "We bring on board temporary employees to support election efforts. We have to secure vote centers that are open a minimum of 8 to 9 hours a day for 11 days, with the final day being open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. We have to staff those locations for an 11-day period."
They also use the funds to mail and print the official ballot packet to over 370,000 registered voters in the county.
Paes said they're basing the costs off of the 2023 special vacancy election when Nathan Fletcher stepped down from the District 4 county supervisor seat.
Fletcher resigned from the Board of Supervisors in May 2023 because of allegations of sexual misconduct.
That election cost the county an estimated $5.2 million.
"What we base our estimates on is the 2023 special vacancy elections for District 4 of the Board of Supervisors, and that's where we estimated $6.6 million total for conducting both elections," said Paes.
More than 57,000 people showed up and mailed in their votes Tuesday, which is a very small population for District 1.
But despite turnout, the cost of doing business keeps democracy in San Diego County.
