As of Tuesday evening, just 47 votes separate Ed Reece and Zach Courser for the third and final spot in the city council race, according to the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder.

While still close, this represents a small jump in favor of Mr. Reece, who was leading by only 21 votes on Friday, November 16.

Mr. Reece currently has 5,904 votes (18.07 percent), while Mr. Courser has 5,857 votes (17.93 percent).

Overall, Jennifer Stark remains the top vote getter with 8,034 votes (24.59 percent), followed by Jed Leano with 7,001 votes (21.43 percent).

The top three vote getters will be sworn in as Claremont’s newest councilmembers.

Only two votes separate Doug Lyon and Mike Ceraso for fifth place. Mr. Lyon has 2,936 votes (8.99 percent) and Mr. Ceraso has 2,934 votes (8.98 percent).

Ballot counting will continue throughout November, with the next update scheduled for Friday, November 23 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m.

Claremont City Clerk Shelley Desautels said in an email a request has been put in regarding the number of ballots still left to count, but noted “the number of ballots left to process are starting to dwindle, though.”

“Also note, even if the Friday numbers do not change for Claremont, that does not mean there will not be some more on Monday, Tuesday, and or Wednesday of next week,” Ms. Desautels said. “The county will continue to process ballots for tally and adhere to the canvass schedule.”

Last Friday, 1,454 ballots were counted, up from the initial estimate of 990. Check the COURIER for the latest election updates.

—Matthew Bramlett

news@claremont-courier.com