FINAL POT VOTE COUNT UNDER WAY

Mendocino County Absentee Ballots to Determine Outcome of Measure B

Mendocino County election officials today started counting 10,385
absentee ballots cast in the June 2 primary, results that will
determine the outcome of a hotly contested measure to repeal the
county's liberal marijuana guidelines.

County Clerk Sue Ranochak said the outcome might be known Friday.
"We're as eager as everyone else to get it done," said Ranochak.

Measure B on election night appeared to win by a 52-48 percent
margin. But most of the 16,364 ballots counted then were from the
inland areas of Ukiah, Redwood Valley and Potter Valley, where the
drive to repeal county marijuana rules originated.

As election night wore on, Measure B's margin of victory tighten
significantly as ballots began to be counted from more marijuana
tolerant regions of the county including the Mendocino Coast,
Anderson Valley and Willits/Laytonville.

With the final 40 percent of the total vote just now being counted,
the outcome could change.

The Measure B campaign drew national attention to the scale of
marijuana production in Mendocino and other rural counties. It also
underscored the lack of uniform state guidelines surrounding
individual's use of marijuana for medical reasons.

If Measure B does pass, current county standards decriminalizing up
to 25 marijuana plants per person will be repealed and more
restrictive state guidelines of six plants put in place.

Even so, the effect will be unclear. As the Measure B campaign
concluded, state guidelines were ruled unconstitutional by a state
appellate court in Los Angeles.