By Fredreka Schouten, CNN

(CNN) — California’s elections are never quite over on Election Day, and this year is no different.

The state’s big population and its universal vote-by-mail system add to the time it takes to count the large volume of ballots counties will receive.

In the 2024 general election, for instance, mail ballots accounted for a little more than 80% of the 16.1 million ballots cast that November. Typically, county election officials first process ballots received before Election Day as they roll in and post those results quickly.

But, under state law, mail ballots can be received at local election offices up to seven days after the election, as long as they are postmarked on or before Election Day. And officials must verify ballots before they can be counted.

It’s typical for mail ballots counted in the days after the election to skew Democratic.

And in this election, Democratic voters appeared to be returning their ballots at a slower pace than in past elections, according to data from Political Data, Inc., a Democratic-aligned data firm, suggesting that the trend could be even more pronounced.

Where things stand

In the California governor’s race, Democratic former US Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is in strong position to get one of the two slots in the November election given how votes counted after Election Day in California are typically more Democratic. The other slot is likely to go either Republican former Fox News host Steve Hilton or Democratic billionaire investor Tom Steyer.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass advanced to the November election. Republican former reality TV star Spencer Pratt landed in second place behind Bass in the first reports, but later updates found him losing ground to progressive city councilmember Nithya Raman. That trend, coupled with the expected Democratic shift from ballots counted after Election Day, means the second spot remains too early to call.

Gubernatorial candidates have told their supporters to prepare for slow results and less-than-typical trends as the count goes on.

Steyer’s campaign said a larger share of Democratic votes are expected to be counted later in the process than in previous elections. Meanwhile, the Trump-endorsed Hilton said he hasn’t “seen anything” that would raise concerns about the validity of the results but criticized the slow process in California.

In an interview with CNN, Hilton called it “ridiculous” that the state has “a system where it could take days or even weeks to get election results.”

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CNN’s Arlette Saenz and David Wright contributed to this report.

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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (KEYT) The judicial race in Santa Barbara County is a close one between challenger Luis Esparza and Judge Thomas Adams.

Although Judge Adams is ahead, this race is too close to call and attorney Luis Esparza commented on that from his campaign party at Pascucci restaurant on State St. tonight.

"I am very pleased with the results of the election so far with the preliminary result, " said Esparza, "This race was all about the accountability of our local judiciary and ensuring that all judges meet or exceed the high standard of integrity and impartiality that the public and the voters deserve and expect."

Esparza watched the returns with friends and family and will keep watching until all the ballots are counted and certified.

Adams could not be reached for comment.

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By Kosta Gak, Anna Chernova, Helen Regan, CNN

(CNN) — Russia said it downed hundreds of drones over its territory, including about 60 over the Leningrad region Tuesday night, in a Ukrainian attack as a major economic forum gets underway.

Saint Petersburg governor Aleksandr Beglov said three districts were targeted as part of an overnight Ukrainian drone assault that wounded several people and damaged infrastructure facilities.

Russian air defenses intercepted and destroyed more than 350 Ukrainian drones over territories both close to the border but also as further afield as Moscow, St Petersburg, and Novgorod in the country’s west, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

In Smolensk, a city in western Russia close to the Belarus border, Ukraine launched strikes on “critical infrastructure facilities,” Smolensk governor Vasiliy Anokhin said.

Two firefighters were killed “while fighting a fire caused by debris from a downed enemy drone,” Anokhin said, adding that two other firefighters and one civilian sustained minor injuries.

The attacks came as the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, or SPIEF, a major business event known as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s version of Davos, gets underway in the city on Wednesday.

It also comes a day after Russia launched a lethal barrage on Ukraine early Tuesday, hitting the capital Kyiv and the central city of Dnipro in a broad-ranging offensive that inflicted one of the deadliest attacks for months.

At least 23 people were killed in the overnight assault, including seven people in Kyiv and 16 others in Dnipro, according to Ukrainian authorities.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres “strongly condemns” the attacks, in which more than 600 drones and dozens of missiles, were fired on Ukraine, according to the military, hitting key civilian infrastructure.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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By Arit John, CNN

(CNN) — Adam Hamawy, a retired US Army combat surgeon and sharp Israel critic, will win the crowded Democratic primary for New Jersey’s 12th Congressional District, CNN’s Decision Desk projects.

Hamawy led a field of roughly a dozen Democrats, including some state and local elected officials, in the solidly blue seat currently held by retiring Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. He was able to consolidate support from progressives and was boosted by American Priorities, a pro-Palestinian super PAC that spent more than $1.5 million supporting his campaign.

“We were told that an outsider couldn’t win. That we couldn’t compete. Well, I think we competed,” Hamawy, who is Muslim and immigrated to the US from Egypt as a baby, told supporters Tuesday night, according to a transcript of his remarks shared by his campaign. “Together, we made it clear you never need to ask for permission to fight for justice. In every corner of this district, we built a movement of people who were fed up.”

Hamawy will face Republican Gregg Mele, who ran unopposed in his party’s primary, in the general election in November.

His win comes after critics resurfaced his past association with Omar Abdel-Rahman, a blind, Egyptian-born cleric who was convicted of seditious conspiracy in a case related to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Hamawy was called as a defense witness in the trial.

In a statement, a campaign spokesperson said Hamawy “condemns that man’s violent rhetoric and actions, and all violence, hatred, and terrorism — and he will always,” adding that “these bad-faith, guilt-by-association attacks on Muslim and Arab candidates are nothing new in our politics.”

“As a witness, he performed his civic and legal duty to testify truthfully under oath and contribute to the system of laws and justice he defended while serving our country in the Army. At the time, the man in question was one of very few religious figures in what was then a very small Muslim community in New Jersey – he saw him speak in religious settings in his early 20s,” the spokesperson said, noting Hamawy did not have contact with Abdel-Rahman following his arrest.

After Hamawy was projected the winner, Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican, questioned why Democrats nominated “a defense witness in the 1993 WTC bombing.”

“If elected in November, Congress should fully investigate his ties to terrorist organizations and determine whether he is fit to serve,” Lawler wrote on X.

Hamawy’s allies framed his win as a rebuke of the attacks leveled against him during the primary and an endorsement of progressive politics.

“Dr. Hamawy won this race the old-fashioned way by outworking his opponents, out-organizing the establishment, and building the progressive coalition needed to deliver his people-first vision to New Jersey working families,” Alexandra Rojas, the executive director of Justice Democrats, a group that works to elect Democrats who don’t accept money from corporate PACs, said in a statement.

Hamawy was among the most progressive candidates in the race — he supports Medicare for All as well as canceling medical and student loan debt. He is outspoken in his support for Palestinians and has accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, where more than 70,000 people have been killed. Israel has denied genocide accusations, including from a UN commission, over its military actions in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack.

Israel has denied accusations of genocide related to its military campaign in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, in which 1,200 peopl

ARROYO GRANDE, Calif. (KEYT) - Incumbent Jimmy Paulding is leading challenger Adam Verdin in the race for San Luis Obispo County 4th District Supervisor.

The most recent update provided by the San Luis Obispo County Elections Office as of 10:01 p.m. Tuesday night, showed Paulding was leading the race with 4,153 votes (53.24%) to 3,648 votes (46.76%) for Verdin.

The two candidates vying for the seat the represents much of South San Luis Obispo County, an area that includes Arroyo Grande, Nipomo, Oceano, Halcyon, Huasna, Edna Valley, California Valley, and unincorporated portions of San Luis Obispo.

Paulding, who is currently serving as the Board Chair, is seeking reelection after first winning the seat four years ago in 2022.

Oceano native Verdin is a businessman, attorney, pilot and community volunteer and has not run for public office before and is in his first ever election as a political candidate.

The two candidates spent Tuesday night at campaign watch parties, where they were surrounded by family, friends and other supporters.

Paulding's campaign night headquarters was the Heritage House Museum in the Village of Arroyo Grande, where dozens of people came out to cheer on the Arroyo Grande native.

"I'm feeling great tonight," said Paulding. "We had a good turnout at our election night party and feeling grateful for the returns so far. We have to wait until every single vote is counted, but it has been the honor and priviledge of my life to serve and I hope that I am reelected to continue serving."

Verdin enjoyed the evening at his Oceano restaurant Old Juan's Cantina, which he co-owns with his sister, and was joined by many of those closest to him.

"I'm very proud of the campaign that we've run," said Verdin. "I'm enormously grateful for the support that we've had during the course of this campaign. We've had amazing volunteers. It's been a great opportunity to meet a lot of people, and we're very encouraged, with where we are right now, particularly since I've never run for office before."

To win election, either candidate will need to capture 50 percent of the vote plus one.

If Verdin wins, he'll have to wait six months until Jan. 5, 2027 to fill the seat, while Paulding will remain in the seat and officially begin his second term on the same day.

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