The 2022 General Election results are in for Yucca Valley. Thank you to all residents who made their voices heard and voted this election cycle. Please note that unofficial election results are provided by the San Bernardino County Registrar of Voters; official votes will be provided on or before December 6, 2022. These figures represent the most up-to-date information as of November 9, 2022 at 4:00 PM, with 100% of precincts reporting voting data.

Voter turnout for San Bernardino County was 19.23%, with 218,993 votes cast out of a total of 1,138,702 registered voters. Voters predominately utilized mail-in ballots, comprising approximately 71% of votes cast; comparatively, voting at a polling place totaled about 29% of voters, followed by less than 1% of voters utilizing a designated ballot drop box. 

Measure K

Notably, 2,078 residents across 62 precincts voted YES to adopting Measure K, the only local ballot measure for the 2022 general election cycle. The measure passed with 71.77% of the vote, compared to NO at 28.23% (705 voters). This count does not include 119 undervotes on Measure K, bringing the total voter participation on the ballot measure to 29.41% (3,677 votes out of 12,501 registered voters).

Measure K, a Short-term Vacation Rental/Hotel tax measure, will adjust the existing Transient Occupancy Tax (TOT) from 7% to 12%. Measure K is not a new tax and does not raise taxes on residents, their homes, or properties; Measure K applies only to individuals staying in local hotels, motels and short-term vacation rentals. Funds generated by Measure K stay in Yucca Valley and cannot be taken by the County, State or Federal governments. Measure K also requires independent citizen oversight and financial audits.

According to the Town Attorney’s Impartial Analysis of Measure K, “the funds collected through the TOT Ordinance could be used by the Town for general services such as police patrols and 911 emergency response, short-term vacation rental compliance monitoring, gang and crime prevention, street maintenance, traffic management, maintaining and keeping parks and other Town facilities safe and clean, supporting fire protection and affordable housing.” 

Town Council Results

This year, Yucca Valley Town Council Districts 1, 3 and 5 were on the November ballot; Jim Schooler (District 1), Merl Abel (District 3) and Rick Denison (District 5), all incumbents, ran unopposed and will keep their seats for another four years until the 2026 election. Districts 2 and 4 will be up for re-election in 2024. 

The Town of Yucca Valley will conduct the annual Mayor rotation at the end of the year, which will take place on December 20, 2022. Jim Schooler served as mayor in 2022, with the new Mayor to be determined.