ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA — NOVEMBER 5, 2026. In Irvine Unified School District Trustee Area 4, incumbent Jeff Kim had 5,333 votes (59.0%) and Jane Wood 3,700 (41.0%) in the November 4 Orange County report. The 1,633-vote lead remains preliminary as officials continue verifying qualifying ballots. These results are an unofficial snapshot, not a certified winner.
A different election from Irvine City Council
Irvine Unified has its own education governing board, elected by trustee area. Its seat is distinct from City Council District 4 or any other city council district — despite similar numbering. Local voters should never treat the label “District 4” as sufficient to identify which agency is being elected.
Trustee Area 2 provides another set of numbers
The county’s separate Trustee Area 2 report shows incumbent Katie McEwen with 7,252 votes (73.4%) and Ron Scolesdang 2,622 (26.6%). That is not a combined school-board vote with Area 4; each trustee area has a distinct electorate.
Schools and city decisions are separate
Education trustees oversee district budgets, school operations, facilities and district leadership. Irvine City Council separately votes on city land use, transportation and public services. Our District 5 council election coverage details another local vote from the same Election Day without conflating jurisdictions.
What the canvass does
Additional eligible mailed or provisional ballots can change the number of valid selections. The relative percentages represent only the candidate votes processed in the cited reporting batch, not every person living within the district or every Irvine voter.
What the next count could change
These figures come from the Orange County November 3 general-election results, updated November 4 at approximately 5:02 p.m. Pacific. Legal vote counting continues, including qualified vote-by-mail and provisional ballots and post-election checks. The countywide number of outstanding ballots must not be assumed to belong to a particular small district or to have a known candidate preference. The Orange County Registrar of Voters controls the official canvass and will publish certified totals under the legal schedule. California’s statewide certification follows on December 11. No winner is certified by this article.
California58 local elections desk, November 5, 2026. Primary result source: the Orange County by-race tally accessed November 5, reporting cutoff November 4, 5:02 p.m. All figures unofficial. No endorsement of candidates.
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