Voters deliver strong message – Press Democrat editorial

If there is one word to sum up the election, it is decisive.

Donald Trump returned to office, becoming the first person since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to win non-consecutive terms as president. Trump is also the first to be elected since impeachment – twice. But voters, frustrated by inflation and immigration, preferred change in Washington.

Ballots are still being counted, but Trump led in six of seven battleground states, including all three blue wall states crucial to Democrat Kamala Harris, who conceded on Wednesday. Trump even improved his performance in California, winning 40% of the vote in a partial return. Four years ago he got 34% of the vote against Joe Biden, and in 2016 he got 32% against Hillary Clinton.

In 2020, when Trump lost the election, he refused to accept the results and even incited a mob that tried to stop Congress from certifying the results. This time we will see a peaceful transfer of power, and we hope Trump will seek reconciliation rather than act on his threats of retaliation.

“Decisive” is also an apt description of voters’ criticism of Measure J, a misguided attempt by animal rights activists to force some Sonoma County dairy and poultry operations to scale back or close entirely.

Thousands of local voters signed petitions to ban “factory farming,” but when they realized that Measure J was aimed at family farms rather than Central Valley feedlots, they gave an unequivocal verdict. As of Wednesday, the J rate had dropped from 15% to 85%.

Only about half of the potential votes have been counted, but the result is beyond doubt. The only question is whether the whopping 70% difference will change once all the ballots are cast.

Pour a glass of milk and wait for the final results.

A couple more observations from Tuesday’s election results:

Sonoma County voters, while they may share national concerns about inflation and the economy, still largely support tax and bond measures proposed by local school districts and cities.

Seven out of 10 school bonds are in the lead, with two barely reaching the 55% approval threshold. Measure I, a quarter-cent sales tax on child care and health, received a solid 60% majority. Business and hospitality tax increases are leading the way in Santa Rosa, as are sales taxes in Cloverdale, Sebastopol and Sonoma. The same applies to sales tax in the city of Napa.

Only Measure W, the renewal of the eighth-cent sales tax for the Sonoma County Library, is in doubt with a 66.7% majority. This is an impressive result in most elections, but barely exceeds the two-thirds majority needed to pass special taxes in California. Supporters will have to wait for the final results to know the outcome.

Sonoma County could hit another record turnout. About 154,000 ballots were received, representing 49.78% of registered voters. In recent elections, about half of the ballots arrived within a week of Election Day, giving Sonoma County a chance to surpass 2008’s 93.4% turnout. We may not be happy with all the results, but we made sure our voices were heard.

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