Santa Monica's Measure RR held a commanding lead in unofficial returns, with 20,595 yes votes (70.71%) to 8,533 no votes (29.29%) as of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder's Nov. 4 update, according to the Santa Monica Mirror and NBC Los Angeles.

That margin of about 12,062 votes puts the city charter amendment well above a simple majority. But the count is not final.

The Santa Monica Daily Press reported the county's 4:28 p.m. update on Nov. 4 raised Santa Monica's total ballots cast to 31,954 in the council race. Countywide, 2,279,750 ballots had been counted, representing 38.6% of registered voters. Thousands of vote-by-mail and provisional ballots remain outstanding, and mail ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 can arrive through Nov. 10.

These are unofficial partial returns. No outlet in the available record has called the measure, and the results have not been certified.

What Measure RR would do

The measure would amend the Santa Monica City Charter to prohibit eviction for nonpayment of rent when a tenant owes less than one month of the average fair market rent for Santa Monica ZIP codes, according to the city's elections page. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) sets those rent figures each year.

The Santa Monica Daily Press reported current HUD fair market rent averages for Santa Monica at $2,708 for a studio, $3,034 for a one-bedroom, $3,782 for a two-bedroom and $4,796 for a three-bedroom.

The measure applies to both rent-controlled units and other rentals covered by Santa Monica's Housing Policies Charter Amendment, Apartment News Publications reported. Landlords who file eviction notices would also need to state the unit's bedroom count and the applicable fair-market-rent threshold.

Landlords would keep the right to collect unpaid rent through means other than eviction. They could not use eviction until the debt exceeded the HUD-based threshold, according to Apartment News Publications.

If the measure fails, the proposed charter amendment would be rejected and current eviction rules for nonpayment would remain unchanged.

No formal opposition filed

The Santa Monica City Council placed Measure RR on the ballot. No argument against the measure was submitted in the official voter pamphlet, according to Apartment News Publications.

What happens next

The county will release morning and afternoon updates for the next two days, then once a day between 4 and 5 p.m. for up to two more weeks, the Santa Monica Daily Press reported. The Registrar-Recorder must certify results by early December. Residents can track updated returns at results.lavote.gov.