> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.raincrossgazette.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Ward 2 Lead Flips as Mail Ballot Deadline Passes - URL: https://www.raincrossgazette.com/ward-2-lead-flips-as-mail-ballot-deadline-passes/ - Published: 2026-11-11T02:40:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-11T02:41:31.000Z - Description: Aram Ayra leads Gracie Torres by just 27 votes, while Chuck Conder holds a seven-point edge over Rich Vandenberg in Ward 4. - Author: Micaela Ricaforte - Tags: Politics, 2026 Election, #herald-415ef165-d2ee-8133-aa99-eccfcd826034 Aram Ayra pulled ahead of Gracie Torres in the Ward 2 City Council race on Tuesday, Nov. 10 — his first lead since polls closed a week earlier — while Chuck Conder holds a firmer lead in Ward 4 and Noemi Hernandez Alexander leads the Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) board race, according to semifinal results released Tuesday. Ayra led Torres 3,821 votes to 3,794, or 50.2% to 49.8%, as of the [Riverside County Registrar of Voters](https://voteinfo.net/november-3-2026-general-election?ref=raincrossgazette.com#docaccess-8270e8767f8a24427fba8b4a909933fc)' 5:33 p.m. report on Nov. 10\. The 27-vote margin is less than half a percentage point, and the race remains too close to call. Tuesday was also the last day mail ballots postmarked by Election Day could arrive at the registrar's office and still be counted. In Ward 4, Councilmember Chuck Conder kept a 7-point lead over [challenger Rich Vandenberg](https://www.raincrossgazette.com/p/2e54e228-947d-4f54-9bc2-d84463f1de8c/). Challenger Jamie Walden held a 62-vote lead over Alvord Unified School District Trustee Norma O. Berrellez in Trustee Area 4, and RUSD Trustee Noemi Hernandez Alexander kept her double-digit lead in Trustee Area 1. ## Ward 2: A lead changes hands [Riverside County Registrar of Voters](https://www.voteinfo.net/?ref=raincrossgazette.com) [Torres led in every county report through Friday, Nov. 6](https://www.raincrossgazette.com/p/d7d85d37-1e58-4f4a-b5e0-196899f2e15f/), but her margin shrank each day — from 4.1 percentage points in the first results to 1.5 points Friday, when she had 2,861 votes to Ayra's 2,774. Since Friday's report, Ayra has picked up 1,047 votes to Torres's 933\. That works out to about 53% of the 1,980 Ward 2 votes added since then, continuing [a trend that began last Thursday, when Ayra started winning the larger share of mail ballots counted](https://www.raincrossgazette.com/p/066cb540-5132-414f-b1a3-31ae1d99b3cc/). Votes counted so far equal 39.8% of Ward 2's registered voters, up from 26.7% Friday. The seat is open because Councilmember Clarissa Cervantes is running for the California State Assembly in District 58\. Torres and Ayra were the top two finishers in June's primary, when Torres led 38% to 35.7%. Ayra also ran for the seat in 2021, finishing third. ## Ward 4: Conder holds his lead [Riverside County Registrar of Voters](https://www.voteinfo.net/?ref=raincrossgazette.com) Conder had 6,648 votes to Vandenberg's 5,751 Tuesday, or 53.6% to 46.4%. His 897-vote lead amounts to 7.2 percentage points — down slightly from 8 points Friday, though his numerical lead grew. Since Friday, Conder has added 1,153 votes and Vandenberg 1,069. Conder is seeking a third term. Vandenberg wrote on Facebook last Thursday that the results so far "aren't what we had hoped for." Votes counted so far equal 43.9% of Ward 4's registered voters. ## School board races [Riverside County Registrar of Voters](https://www.voteinfo.net/?ref=raincrossgazette.com) In Alvord's Trustee Area 4, Walden led Berrellez 1,607 votes to 1,545 — 51% to 49%. His lead has slipped from 2.5 percentage points Friday to 2 points, and from 65 votes to 62\. Berrellez led in every count through Wednesday, Nov. 4, before Walden pulled ahead Thursday. Votes counted so far equal 32.5% of the area's registered voters. [Riverside County Registrar of Voters](https://www.voteinfo.net/?ref=raincrossgazette.com) [In RUSD's Trustee Area 1, Hernandez Alexander had 51.7%](https://www.raincrossgazette.com/p/6c77c39f-7ad9-4a70-bcf9-db4a8b5e760b/) of the vote to Duffy Atkinson's 39.4% and Jinane Annous's 9%. Her 12.3-point lead is slightly smaller than the range of 12.5 to 13.1 points it held through Friday. Votes counted so far equal 40.9% of the area's registered voters. ## What's left to count The county has counted 564,025 ballots so far, equal to 38.8% of its 1,454,190 registered voters. As of Friday evening, the registrar estimated that 374,000 vote-by-mail ballots and 11,000 conditional voter registration (CVR) ballots remained to be counted countywide. Counties must finish counting nearly all ballots by Nov. 16\. Voters have until Nov. 25 to fix signature problems on mail ballots, and the county must certify results by Dec. 3