Incumbent Ron Holliday is maintaining his lead in Murrieta City Council District 2, while incumbent Cindy Warren remains well ahead in District 5, according to the latest available unofficial election results.

The most recent published updates located for the local contests were posted Wednesday, Nov. 4. They show Holliday with 1,495 votes, or 56.2%, in District 2. Keelan McCullough follows with 675 votes (25.4%), and Joshua Barton has 490 votes (18.4%).

In District 5, Warren leads with 1,907 votes, or 66.38%, compared with 966 votes (33.62%) for challenger Luiz Valdez Jr.

The results are not final. Riverside County election officials are continuing to process ballots from the Nov. 3 general election, and the county's official canvass remains underway.

City Council: Holliday leads District 2

Holliday, the incumbent, holds a lead over two challengers in District 2.

The latest reported totals show:

  • Ron Holliday: 1,495 votes (56.2%)
  • Keelan McCullough: 675 votes (25.4%)
  • Joshua Barton: 490 votes (18.4%)

Holliday leads McCullough by 820 votes. The latest batch added 258 votes to the contest, according to The Ballot Book's Riverside County results tracker.

McCullough, a police sergeant, and Barton, a small business owner, challenged Holliday for the seat. Public safety, city growth and the resources needed to maintain municipal services were among the issues raised during the campaign.

Warren holds a strong lead in District 5

Warren also maintains a substantial advantage in District 5.

The latest available results show Warren with 1,907 votes (66.38%) and Valdez with 966 votes (33.62%), a margin of 941 votes.

Warren is the incumbent. Valdez, an assistant project manager, challenged her for the district seat.

The Riverside County results reported by NBC Los Angeles show the same vote totals. The contest had 2,873 votes counted in the latest reported figures.

Measure M school bond remains short of passage

Murrieta Valley Unified School District's Measure M continues to fall short of the approval threshold needed to pass.

The $359 million bond measure has 9,060 yes votes (49.66%) and 9,185 no votes (50.34%), according to the latest figures reported by NBC Los Angeles.

Even if the yes vote moves ahead, the measure must receive at least 55% voter approval to pass.

Measure M would authorize the district to issue up to $359 million in bonds for repairs and improvements at school facilities. The proposal includes work on aging roofs, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems, electrical infrastructure, classrooms, science labs and career-technology facilities.

If approved, property owners within the district would pay an estimated $60 per $100,000 of assessed property value annually while the bonds remain outstanding. The measure also includes provisions for citizen oversight and independent audits.

The current results show the measure trailing by 125 votes, with 18,245 votes counted. The district's facility needs remain regardless of the election outcome.

School board races: Pardue and Young lead

Two seats on the Murrieta Valley Unified School District governing board were also on the Nov. 3 ballot.

In Trustee Area 1, incumbent Nick Pardue leads with 2,098 votes (55.2%). Jeremy Murphy has 1,204 votes (31.7%), and Guia M. Blaske has 498 votes (13.1%).

Pardue's margin over Murphy is 894 votes, based on 3,800 votes counted in the latest reported update.

In Trustee Area 2, incumbent Nancy Young leads Courtney Thouvenell with 1,947 votes (54.7%) to 1,614 votes (45.3%). Young's margin is 333 votes, with 3,561 votes counted in the latest available figures.

The Area 1 results were updated Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 4, while the latest available Area 2 update was posted earlier that morning. The totals may change as additional ballots are counted.

Results are available through The Ballot Book's Area 1 tracker and Area 2 tracker.

Hundreds of thousands of ballots remain countywide

The local results are part of a much larger countywide count.

On Wednesday evening, Nov. 4, the Riverside County Registrar of Voters estimated that approximately 455,000 vote-by-mail ballots and 11,000 conditional voter registration ballots remained to be counted across the county, according to the Raincross Gazette.

Those figures apply to Riverside County as a whole, not specifically to Murrieta. They help explain why early leads should not be treated as final outcomes.

California election officials can count vote-by-mail ballots postmarked by Election Day if they are received by Nov. 10. The official canvass includes processing eligible late-arriving ballots, provisional ballots and conditional registrations, along with required election audits.

When will results be certified?

Riverside County must complete its official election canvass and certify local results by Dec. 3. The California Secretary of State is scheduled to certify statewide results on Dec. 11.

Until then, the Murrieta City Council, school board and Measure M figures remain unofficial and subject to change.

Residents can follow updates through the Riverside County Registrar of Voters and the California Secretary of State's election results page.

Editor's note: Vote totals and percentages reflect the latest published updates located for each contest, primarily from Nov. 4. The update times vary by race. All results are unofficial and may change as Riverside County completes its canvass.