The County Elections Office predicts that turnout will eventually reach around 50% after all ballots are counted.

That means there are still tens of thousands of ballots to be tallied.

There are a few close races in Contra Costa County. The leads could still change in those races as thousands more ballots are counted.

Under state law, ballots postmarked by Nov. 8 and received by Nov. 15 must be counted.

The Elections Office will release a new tally this Thursday afternoon which will include mail ballots received from Monday through much of Thursday. There will be a significant number of these since many mail ballots were dropped off on Election Day.

Unlike in-person precinct votes, signatures need to be verified on mail ballots. This takes time.

Provisional ballots are also being counted. Provisional ballots are ballots submitted by those who may be registered to vote but whose name was not on the official voter list. These must be checked and verified.

County Elections Office staff are working hard to count ballots as fast as possible and will post updates regularly.

Democracy depends in part on a trusted, orderly, and fair voting and tallying process, and our great elections professionals work hard to maintain the highest standards.