Bishop School Board Election: Moya-Tanner, Figueroa and Nicholson Lead Three Seats in Latest Inyo Count

BISHOP, California — November 5, 2026. Bishop Unified School District voters had five names to consider for three open governing-board seats. In the fourth unofficial Inyo County election-night report, Claudia Moya-Tanner has 1,605 votes (25.59%), Virginia Figueroa 1,408 (22.45%) and Joshua R. Nicholson 1,286 (20.50%). The next two candidates are Tyler McManus at 1,086 (17.32%) and Scott Gadea at 887 (14.14%).

What the rankings mean — and do not mean

The field is an at-large vote-for-three contest, not three separate one-on-one elections. The top three listed candidates currently occupy the leading reported positions. Nicholson’s reported margin over McManus is 200 candidate votes, but that gap is not a declaration of victory. More eligible ballots can still be counted, and individual voters could select fewer than three candidates.

Understanding the totals

The county report lists 6,272 votes cast for candidate selections in this particular race, along with 3,031 undervotes and 15 overvotes. The 6,272 figure is not 6,272 individual voters; each voter in this contest could make up to three selections. The undervote category measures unused selections, not automatically a spoiled or rejected ballot. This difference matters when comparing school-board participation to the countywide governor’s race.

Why school-board leadership matters locally

The governing board oversees district budgets, governance, superintendent oversight and school policies. Bishop and surrounding communities depend on decisions made by local education trustees. The election affects local district management rather than California’s statewide superintendent contest, which appears separately on the ballot.

More mailed ballots are coming

The Inyo County Elections Office lists thousands of mail ballots and additional provisional or challenged ballots still to be reviewed countywide. Those are countywide pending figures, not an estimate of ballots specifically outstanding in the Bishop school-board race. The next county report is expected November 6. See our breakdown of unprocessed Inyo ballots.

Other Bishop contests

California58 has also reported the early Bishop City Council count, where two seats are at stake. The two elections should not be conflated: one chooses the City Council; the other selects trustees for the school district.

Source cutoff: the Inyo fourth election-night report, 12:13 a.m. November 4, reproduced here by Sierra Wave; Inyo County official results page. Not certified.

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