San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office published the final report of unofficial Election Day results around midnight Wednesday morning.
Though everyone received mail-in ballots automatically, some voters still opted for voting at the polls before they closed at 8 p.m.
Mustang News conducted interviews outside polling locations to get a sense of what was prominent in voters’ minds going into Election Day.
Voters at C.L. Smith Elementary School all had unique reasons for voting.
“Probably the thing that’s most important to me right now is, I feel our democracy is being attacked,” Luke Gies, who described himself as a moderate, told Mustang News.
Gies also reiterated the fact that he feels that voting is his civic duty.
On the other hand, Elsie Muñoz said that homeownership drove her to the ballot box this year.
“Since I bought a house in this area, I feel that local government, especially the small scale – city council and things like that – affect my life more,” Muñoz said. “When I was younger and moving around more I was less interested [in voting].”
Voters at the Grace Church echoed similar grievances and reasons for voting.
Carlos Rodriguez decided to vote because of Measure C-22. Measure C-22 would renovate schools in San Luis Obispo that have not been renovated for 50 or 60 years by increasing property taxes.
Rodriguez also felt that it was his civic duty to vote.
“I’m just trying to do my part as a good citizen of the US,” Rodriguez said.
Jonathan Laratonda said that he was motivated by Proposition 1, which would add abortion rights to the state’s constitution, and the prospect of Gavin Newsom being reelected governor.
“Having Gavin Newsom another round — I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Laratonda said. “I just want to see some change and differences in California.”
Leo Kirshenbaum, a mechanical engineering senior at Cal Poly, said that affordable housing brought him out to vote this year.
“I’m actually registered to vote in San Francisco and affordable housing is a big issue there,” Kirshenbaum. “It was important for me to vote for affordable housing measures and candidates.”
Up-to-date vote counts will be released tomorrow as more ballots are counted.