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Trump Vote Second Lowest in Nation

Hillary Clinton won 90.4% of the vote in Berkeley. Donald Trump finished third with 3.2% behind Green Party candidate Jill Stein who won 4.6% of the vote.

Clinton. 57,750 90.4%

Stein 2,947 4.6%

Trump 2,031 3.2%

Johnson 884 1.4%

La Riva 298 .5%

There were also 912 write-in votes, some of which were probably for Bernie Sanders, and 559 people voted for no one for president.

Trump’s showing was the worst ever for a Republican presidential candidate in Berkeley. In 2012, Romney managed to get 4.6% of the vote, while John McCain did a bit better in 2008 with 4.9%. George Bush won 6.6% running against Democratic candidate John Kerry in 2004. 

Only one city in the United States with a population of at least 100,000 has recorded a smaller percentage of votes for Donald Trump than Berkeley. Voters in Detroit, Michigan cast 95.0% of their votes for Clinton and only 3.1% for Trump, according to official results. 

Washington D.C. appears to be in third place, with 4.1% for Trump (90.5% for Clinton). Among cities with a majority of white residents, Berkeley clearly ranks first in votes for Clinton and in rejection of Trump 

Some cities, especially in California, haven’t finished counting votes. Inglewood in Los Angeles County, in the count reported so far, reports 91.4% for Clinton and only 5.2% for Trump. San Francisco is 84.5% for Clinton; 9.2% for Trump in unofficial results. Trump was at 10.1% in early results for the City of Santa Cruz, with Clinton at 83.2% 

Other cities housing major universities are among those with very small percentages for Trump. Cambridge, Mass voters gave Trump only 6.2% of their votes. In Ann Arbor Michigan, Trump had about 12% with the count not yet complete. 

Turnout up in Berkeley 

Turnout this year was 78.1% of registered voters in Berkeley, up from 73.7% in the 2012 presidential election. 65,430 ballots were cast this year, up from 60,559 in 2012. Some of the increase is probably due to population growth. 

Berkeley Turnout Presidential Elections 

 

Year	Ballots Cast   and turnout	Winner in Berkeley with vote and %
2000	54,684   75.6%	Gore   42,167 78.1%
2004	60,818   77.3%	Kerry   54,409 90.0%
2008	66,703   77.5%	Obama   61,134 92.5%
2012	60,559   73.7%	Obama   54,163 90.3%
2016	65,430   78.1%	Clinton   57,750 90.4%

 

Vote by Mail in Berkeley Elections 

 

Year	Percent VBM
2004	37.2
2006	49.5
2008	46.4
2010	51.0
2012	51.7
2014	58.1
2016	64.8

 

Turnout, Vote by Mail by Council District 

November 8, 2016 Election 

 

Council District	Ballots Cast/Turnout	% Vote by mail
1	9,245/82.0%	66.2%
2	8,350/75.6%	62.8%
3	8,494/76.2%	61.3%
4	7,089/74.9%	64.0%
5	10,497/86.9%	71.8%
6	8,718/81.9%	68.5%
7	4,898/63.9%	49.2%
8	8,139/77.8%	65.9%
citywide	65,430/78.1%	64.8%
8 student precincts	4,202/60.5%	44.5%

 

Turnout was highest in Districts 1, 5, and 6 where it exceeded 80%. It was much lower in student precincts close to campus. In a group of seven consolidated Southside precincts and one consolidated Northside precinct that together include almost all UC dorms, as well as fraternities, sororities and student coops and near campus apartments, turnout was only 60.5%. 

In predominantly student District 7, only 7660 people are registered to vote. In every other council district except District 4, which also has a lot of student voters, there are over 10,000 registered voters. In District 4, which includes Downtown, 9466 are registered to vote. 

Voting by Mail  

64.8% of Berkeley’s ballots were cast by mail this year, up from 51.7% in the last presidential election. Only students, or those students living close to campus, continue to cast more ballots at the polls than by mail. And even in 8 near campus consolidated student precincts, 44.5% of the vote was cast by mail ballots. 

So many people are voting by mail that this year 44% of the votes were counted after the election night count of early vote by mail ballots and votes cast at the polls. 

State Props and Regional Measures 

Berkeley voters voted by big margins for bonds for BART and affordable housing and for the AC Transit parcel tax, all of which passed. 

Berkeley voters supported Prop 62 to repeal the death penalty by a 87% to 13%, and strongly opposed Prop 66 to speed up the death penalty appeals process. Statewide the voters defeated repeal and passed Prop 66 (though not all ballots have been counted statewide). Fewer people voted one way or the other on Prop 66 than on Prop 62. 92.8% of Berkeley voters favored Prop 57 to increase parole and good behavior opportunities for felons convicted of nonviolent crimes. 

Berkeley voters were strongly in favor of legalizing marijuana (Prop 64) and banning single use plastic grocery bags (Prop 67). Prop 64 was supported by 83.5% of Berkeley’s voters, with 61,731 voting for or against. Only the cigarette tax to fund healthcare drew more total votes (62,312). 

Berkeley voters favored Prop 61 to lower prescription drug prices, which was supported by Bernie Sanders but opposed by a massive spending campaign by pharmaceutical companies. The measure failed but got 69.6% in Berkeley. 

How Berkeley Voted November 8, 2016 Election 

Selected State Propositions and Regional Measures 

 

Prop or Measure	Description	How   Voted	Ballots cast	% of vote
Prop 51	School Bonds for K-12 and com colleges	YES	60,723	68.9
Prop 53*	Voter approval for revenue bonds	NO	58,919	79.2
Prop 55	Extend Tax on High Incomes For educ.	YES	61,217	87.5
Prop 56	Cigarette Tax to Fund Healthcare	YES	62,312	85.9
Prop 57	Parole nonviolent offenders	YES	61,716	92.8
Prop 58	English proficiency; multilingual educ.	YES	61,189	91.0
Prop 61*	Lower prescription drug prices	YES	57,524	69.6
Prop 62*	Repeal Death Penalty	YES	60,961	86.9
Prop 63	Background check for ammo purchase	YES	61,419	88.8
Prop 64	Legalize Marijuana	YES	61,731	83.5
Prop 66	Speed up death sentences	NO	57,936	81.9
Prop 67	Ban on single use plastic bags	YES	61,031	86.9
RR	BART bond measure	YES	56,601	88.0
A1	Alameda Co. Affordable Housing Bond	YES	59,268	86.7
C1	AC Transit Parcel Tax	YES	55,522	91.4

* Defeated statewide 

 

How voted is how voters in Berkeley voted on the prop or measure. 

Ballots cast are total ballots cast Yes or No on measure. A total of 65,430 ballots were cast in Berkeley. On each prop or measure, some voters left the ballot blank. In the presidential race, 63,910 votes were recorded for candidates on the ballot; others wrote-in candidates and only 559 voters, or .9% voted for no one. 

% of vote: percent of vote for or against measure in Berkeley