Letter to the Editor, Monterey Herald, June 15, 2022

I had to look at the masthead of The Herald recently, just to check the date and confirm what century we were in. The results of the recent primary election have come in so slowly I had to wonder.

For example, Del Rey Oaks has a population of less than 1,600, and there was an important vote on Proposition B, to determine the fate of the city’s portion of the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway (FORTAG). A lot of residents on both sides put in a great deal of campaign work and deserved to know the results as soon as possible.

On primary night, the elections office showed 37.75% of the votes in Del Rey Oaks had been counted (even less in other races), and the vote was close.

As I write this on Friday afternoon, the results continue to show 37.75% of the votes had been counted, unchanged since Tuesday (the other races too). That’s inexcusable. There has to be a better and quicker method of counting votes, and Monterey County should look into it.

— Arlen Grossman