Tuesday marked the final day voters in San Jose's District 3 can vote in a special election to decide who will replace disgraced former Councilman Omar Torres. Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Voting centers will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. on Tuesday. Mail-in ballots were already sent out.
At least seven candidates are vying for the seat. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, that person could take office immediately. If not, the top two contenders will compete in a runoff in June.
Voting officials said they were expecting up to 30% of eligible voters to vote -- but as of Monday afternoon, they think it’ll be 15%.
“Special elections are always tough, they’re always 20 to 30%. This is only 47,000 voters but we still want everybody to make sure they [vote] because 11% of the 47,000 are going to make the difference for that office,” said Evelyn Mendez, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters spokesperson.
The race could also tip the balance on the city council.
Melinda Jackson, a political science professor at San Jose State University, said it’s a district where residents see a lot of the city's most pressing issues – including homelessness and public safety concerns.
“It will be a race to watch, in terms of if Matt Mahan gets another ally on the council or whether he has a District 3 representative who is more allied with labor and would tend to oppose some of his agenda,” she said.
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District 3 includes downtown San Jose and Japantown.
Election results will be available at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters website.
Meanwhile, Torres on Tuesday morning plead no contest to sex crimes, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office.
