Jeff Rosen’s victory over Dolores Carr in Santa Clara County’s razor-thin race for district attorney became official Friday, June 11,when the updated election results showed his lead over Carr growing.
With 99 percent of the county’s mailed-in ballots counted, Rosen’s lead over Carr grew to 2,854 votes. Elma Rosas, spokesperson for the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, said the county still had between 9,000 and 10,000 uncounted ballots, including roughly 7,500 “provisional ballots,” which need additional research before they can be counted.
By Friday afternoon, Rosen had received 127,185 votes (50.57 percent), while Carr earned 124,331 votes (49.43 percent). He released a statement Friday afternoon saying he is “incredibly humbled” to announce his inauguration as the county’s next district attorney in January.
“In this election, we spoke with the people of this county, and together, loudly and clearly, we said one word: justice,” Rosen said in a statement.
“I truly believe that we won this election because we were fair, truthful, and passionate about changing business as usual in this county,” he said.
Shortly after the results were published, Carr acknowledged in a statement that “the race has been determined.”
“I am proud of the honest and honorable campaign that we ran, and I am grateful for all of the support we received,” Carr said. ” I feel privileged to have served the community as the first female District Attorney in Santa Clara County, and I am proud of what we accomplished.”
The Friday results bring to conclusion the most hotly disputed race on the Tuesday, June 8, ballot. Rosen ended election night with a lead of about 2,200 votes, though more than 90,000 ballots were yet to be counted.
Rosen led by only 1,724 votes early Friday, but saw his lead extend as more votes were counted. By the end of the day, his lead grew and his victory was assured.
Rosas said the provisional ballots have to be processed before the county determines whether they should be counted. They typically take longer to process because of questions about the voter’s identity or place of residence, she said.
But with almost 315,000 ballots already counted and his lead widening, Rosen’s victory became official.
