Reader Question: What happened to the 51 percent rule? Ed got more than 51 percent of the vote why didn’t he win at the primary?

SPJ Responds: This was really the question of the day on Wednesday (June 9). And the answer is: that rule only applies in partisan races according to Humboldt County Clerk Tami Spero – who confirmed it with the Secretary of State. The campaign for Humboldt County Sheriff is a nonpartisan race.

For example, in the case of the campaign for Humboldt County Commission Seat E, where there were six Republican candidates and no Democrats running, if any one of the candidates had the majority vote he would have won at the primary level.

That is, of course, highly unlikely in a six-way race. Not impossible; just highly unlikely. It would be much more likely in a three-way race where two of the candidates were complete schmucks. Maybe then.

In a nonpartisan race, however, the two top vote getters move on to the general election – the majority vote notwithstanding.