DOWNTOWN — Just 121 votes — fewer than .2 percent of those cast in the contest — separated City Council challenger Ted Winterer from five-term incumbent Bob Holbrook by Friday afternoon, after thousands more ballots from Tuesday’s election were tallied.
According to election results posted online by the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, Holbrook was holding onto third-place in the race for three council seats with 10,840 votes. Winterer had 10,719.
The updated figures showed a tightening of the race, with Winterer narrowing the gap by 25 votes. Election results released the day after the election showed Holbrook with a 146-vote edge.
On Wednesday, election officials had said there were 5,954 Santa Monica ballots left to be counted.
Based on voting totals it was evident that at least 1,700 additional ballots had been processed, but the exact number was unclear. Election officials at L.A. County could not be reached by deadline Friday.
The next election results update is expected early next week.
nickt@www.smdp.com