SLO County certifies Special Election Results; Reports one of State’s highest turnout rates

By Atascadero News · Tue Dec 02 2025

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY — The San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder’s Office has officially certified the results of the Nov. 4, Statewide Special Election, completing the final steps of the required election canvass. The county is now reporting a 67 percent voter turnout — the fourth highest among California’s 58 counties.

While the majority of the more than 113,000 mail-in ballots were processed by Nov. 17, voters had until Nov. 30 to correct missing or mismatched signatures. Elections staff also researched and duplicated more than 2,000 provisional ballots, most of which originated from Cal Poly polling locations. Provisional ballots require additional review to confirm eligibility and are often duplicated onto correct precinct ballots before counting, according to a press release from the Clerk Recorder's office.

“We are really proud of SLO County voters for the 67 percent turnout countywide,” said Clerk Recorder Elaina Cano this morning. “That’s 17 percent higher than the statewide average of 50  percent and puts us at the fourth highest turnout among all 58 counties.” 

Cano noted that a new state law taking effect in 2026 will require all vote-by-mail ballots to be processed within 13 days of future elections. Although the county met that standard voluntarily this year, she said the expanded 2026 primary and general ballots will make the timeline more challenging. The county’s upcoming move to electronic pollbooks is expected to reduce the number of provisional ballots and streamline verification.

The Clerk-Recorder’s Office will release a full Statement of Votes Cast by Thursday, including precinct-level participation details. Early statistics show turnout varied widely by party and community, with the highest participation in Squire Canyon (79%), Cambria (77%), and Linne (75%). Proposition 50 received 54.71 percent “Yes” votes and 45.29 percent “No” in the final county results.

The certified results are available at slovote.com/november2025