(Wines&Vines) - Hotly contested ballot measure on land use regulations divided Napa County voters

Napa, Calif.—Measure C, the Watershed and Oak Woodland Protection Initiative that some believe would impede future expansion of Napa County’s vineyards and development of new wineries, appears to have failed according to the latest election results.

 Napa County’s fourth unofficial post-election night report, released late today, stated a total count of 17,471 “no” votes (50.92% of votes) versus 16,839 “yes” votes (49.08% of votes). 

Napa County Registrar of Voters John Tuteur, who won his re-election campaign, told Wines & Vines in an interview that, due to “voter-involved damage” to mail-in ballots, the county’s election division has between 750 and 1,000 ballots that need further review or duplication. Furthermore, California law requires that 1% of county precincts’ votes be counted by hand; with 167 precincts inside Napa County, the election division will be conducting a manual tally of all races on approximately 1,200 ballots from two randomly selected precincts, according to Tuteur.