SLO County Elections Office Updates Results -- and Updates Voters on Next Steps
Author: Erin Clausen
Date: 6/5/2026 3:32 PM
The Elections Office lays out a timeline for what voters can expect in the coming days and weeks
On Thursday, June 4, the SLO County Elections Office posted updated primary election results, bringing the total number of ballots counted to 45,667. The next set of updated results will post Monday, June 8 by 6pm.
The returns so far represent a turnout of about 25% of eligible county voters, but that is expected to rise to more than 50% in the next couple of weeks, as mail ballots are signature-checked, processed, and counted. The current unprocessed ballots report indicates that about 60,000 ballots still need to be researched and counted.
A new state law effective January 1, 2026, requires almost all mail ballots to be tabulated within 13 days of the election. Ballots requiring a signature cure and provisional ballots are not subject to this deadline.
The office also laid out a canvass timeline for voters so they know what to expect. Following are some key milestones in the process:
June 8 by 6pm: Next update to unofficial results; results will continue to be updated each time ballots are counted and adjudicated
June 9: Last day for the office to receive mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day
June 15: 13-day deadline for counting mail ballots without signature cure or other issues
June 16: First day of the multi-day 1% Manual Tally audit
June 24: Last day to cure signature issues
July 2: Deadline to certify county results
More than 90% of SLO County voters choose to vote by mail ballot, and in this election many of those voters opted to cast their ballot just before or on Election Day. Now that they're in the hands of the Elections Office, those ballots each need to be scanned, signature-verified, and processed before they can be counted. Damaged, torn, or stained ballots must be duplicated according to specific guidelines. Staff are currently able to process about 5,000 ballots a day.
In addition, any ballot with an overvote, a write-in (qualified or not), and/or stray marks must be adjudicated by a two-person team to determine if the voter's intent is clear before it can be added to the results. After each count, there are hundreds or even thousands of ballots to adjudicate. As with all other ballot-handling processes, adjudication activity is publicly observable at the Elections Center in downtown SLO.
If you are contacted about needing to cure your signature, you can find a link to the signature verification statement at slovote.gov/june2026.
Current unofficial results can be accessed directly or found on the slovote.gov/june2026 page.
