Election Update: Enney Leading PRJUSD Trustee Race

By Camille DeVaul · Wed Apr 19 2023

The final count will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3

UPDATE (APRIL 21 3:30 P.M.) — This Friday afternoon, SLO County Clerk Recorder Elaina Cano released an update to the Special Election for Paso Robles Joint Unified School District.

Candidate Kenney Enney (54.32 percent or 6,476 votes) remains in the lead of the race against Angela Hollander (45.68 percent or 5,445 votes). In the Monterey County count, Enney also remains in the lead with 71.64 percent of the vote against Hollander with 28.36 percent.

Letters to cure voter signatures must be received in the County Elections Office by 5 p.m. on Monday, May 1. There are approximately 94 letters still left to be returned. Voters can return their letters by:

• Mailing the signed statement in the enclosed envelope that was provided with the letter.
• Email the signed statement to elections@co.slo.ca.us.
• Fax the signed statement to our office at (805)781-1111.
• Deliver the signed statement in person to the County Clerk-Recorder – Elections Office locatedat 1055 Monterey Street, San Luis Obispo, CA.The final count will begin at 9:00am on Wednesday, May 3, 2023. At the conclusion of the count, the County Clerk-Recorder will then certify the results of the April 18, 2023, Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Special Election.

The final count will begin at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 3. At the conclusion of the count, the County Clerk-Recorder will then certify the results of the April 18, Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Special Election.

UPDATE (APRIL 19 4:20 P.M.) — SLO County Clerk Recorder Elaina Cano released an update in the Special Election for Paso Robles Joint Unified School District.

As of this afternoon, candidate Kenney Enney leads the race with 4,967 votes over Angela Hollander with 4,731 votes — including VBM and in person polling.

Cano's office released the following breakdown in election numbers as of today: 

• Number of Paso Robles Joint Unified School District Registered Voters: 30,705
• Vote By Mail (VBM) Ballots counted prior to Election Day: 9,498
• Voters that voted at the polls on Election Day: 441
• Voters that voted provisionally at the polls: 21
• Voters that returned their Vote-By-Mail ballot by mail or at an official ballot drop box, polling place or the election office the day before and on Election Day: approx. 2,039
• Vote By Mail ballots still in review for signature issues (i.e. no-sig, sig-mismatch, signed by other member in the household, etc.): 89

In Monterey County where the district crosses over, Enney leads with 73.33 percent of the vote over Hollander's 26.67 percent vote. 

Counting will continue on Friday, April 21. All updates will be posted on slovote.com by 5 p.m.

(ORIGINAL STORY)

PASO ROBLES — With election day over, it is a tight race for Paso Robles Joint Unified School District trustee candidates. As of election night on Tuesday, April 18, only six votes separate the two vying for the seat in the day's special election.

As of 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, candidate Kenneth (Kenney) Enney is leading with 4,720 votes — just six more than his competitor Angela Hollander. As reported by the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano, 30,707 vote-by-mail (VBM) ballots were mailed out to voters in the Paso Robles Joint Unified School District on March 20. Results released included 9,498 counted votes.

Hollander is listed as a retired nonprofit manager, registered nurse, and community volunteer, and Enney is listed as a Marine, educator, rancher, and businessman.

The special election was initiated after a petition was successful in terminating provisionally appointed trustee Enney, who was sworn in on Oct. 11, 2022. He was appointed to fill the seat left behind by Chris Bausch, who left the PRJUSD to fill a seat on Paso Robles City Council. The special election is estimated to cost the district $453,000. 

The petition itself did not specify the reason for terminating Enney. However, enough signatures were collected, and a special election was scheduled. The campaign went on and did not go quietly. Twice, Enney filed a complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) against the district and the Paso Robles Public Educators (PRPE) union based on grounds of violations of the State Political Reform Act. Both complaints were dismissed by FPPC.

Cano's office released an election update last week, where almost 8,000 VBM ballots had been received. After the polls closed on Tuesday, and ballots are brought to the San Luis Obispo Main Elections Office, results are updated every two hours and posted to slovote.com.

Cano outlined what is expected next, following Election Day.

What ballots are counted after Election Day?

• Vote by Mail Ballots: Vote by Mail ballots that arrive the day before or on Election Day either by mail, returned at a polling place or deposited in a Ballot Drop Box, are processed and counted in the days after Election Day and therefore are not included in the election night results reporting. However, they will be processed and counted within the canvass period.
• Postmarked Vote by Mail Ballots: Under California law, ballots may be counted even if they arrive after Election Day, as long as they are received by mail no later than seven days after the election (April 25) and are postmarked on or before Election Day.
• Provisional Ballots: These are the last ballots counted because they must be researched and verified. Depending on how many provisional ballots have been received, it may take a few days or even weeks to process, but every valid vote will be counted.
• Missing or Mismatched Signature: A voter’s signature on the returned vote-by-mail identification envelope must compare with the signature(s) in the voter’s registration record. If the voter did not sign the ballot envelope, or if the elections official has determined that the signature on the envelope does not compare to the signature(s) of the voter in the voter’s record, the elections official/staff will provide the voter with the applicable notice to cure the missing or mismatched signature. This notice must be returned to the Elections Office no later than two days prior to the certification of the election. This process will be ongoing throughout the semi-official (March 20 to April 18) and official canvass (April 19 to May 18).

According to Cano, for this election, there is a good chance that her office will certify much sooner than May 18, which means any voter that receives a cure letter should return it as soon as possible.

When will the election be certified?

• Depending on the number of VBM ballots on Election Day and postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the seventh day after the election, here are the possibilities of when the election could be certified:
• If all VBM ballots have been verified, processed and counted by April 27, then Cano would anticipate certifying on May 5.
• If there are still a significant number of VBM ballots to process through May 1, then Cano would anticipate certifying on May 10.
• Regardless, the certification of the election must happen on or before May 18.

Paso Robles Press is following this election and will update as more information becomes available. More election updates can be found on slovote.com.