Sheng Thao takes the lead in Oakland Mayoral race, race still too close to call

Oakland city councilmember Sheng Thao could very well be the next mayor of Oakland. The latest tally of votes gives her more than 50 percent support.

City councilmember Loren Taylor, who had been leading until now, released a lengthy statement Saturday morning stating that there are still thousands of votes left to count.  

"It is my understanding there are still thousands of ballots left to count, as well as hundreds of potentially valid votes that remain unprocessed due to unsigned ballot envelopes or mismatched voter signatures," Taylor wrote. "Given the incredibly close margin based on last night’s instant runoff results, I believe it is premature to declare victory or defeat at this time."

He also said he was honored to receive the most first place votes of any candidate.

Sheng Thao’s campaign released a statement thanking the registrar of voters.

"We are optimistic that our lead will hold and that Sheng Thao will be the next mayor of Oakland." Thao wrote.

Oakland uses ranked choice voting which allows voters to pick their top five choices for mayor. If no candidate get a majority in the first round, an elimination process begins.

Voters with an eliminated candidate have their second choice counted. If that candidate is eliminated, then their third choice kicks in, and so on, until one candidate eventually has the majority of votes.

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"Sometimes the person with the most first choice votes doesn’t win, but it means somebody with a lot of second votes and third choice votes wins. And that means more people’s voices are being heard," said Melissa Michelson, a political scientist at Menlo College.

Michelson said this year’s Oakland mayor race is reminiscent of 2010, when Jean Quan came from behind to win.

She said with the ranked choice system, you often don’t find out on election day who wins. But this longer process is a way to save money by avoiding a runoff. Michelson also thinks it’s better for democracy.

"What the research shows is that when you have ranked choice voting, candidates are more likely to run negative campaigns," she said. "You want to make sure you’re leaving a favorable impression on everybody."