A Bay Area girl somehow returned home from trick-or-treating on Friday with a real dangerous trick: Hidden in her candy was a small bag of methamphetamine, according to police.

Police in Hercules are trying to determine where the 8-year-old's trick, a .1-gram plastic bag of crystal methamphetamine, came from.

The drugs were discovered after the night of candy-collecting was completed when the girl was sorting through her haul with her parents.

"He had been checking his child's Halloween candy after putting it away on Halloween night, and while checking it found the baggie and suspected it was illegal drugs. He wanted to report it," Hercules Police Sgt. Ezra Tafesse said of the child's father.

Police, who said the child was trick-or-treating in the city's Promenade area, are unsure if the meth found were given to the child intentionally or on accident.

Tafesse said the amount of meth found is enough to have felony charges filed for possession of controlled substance.

The incident has put in question residents' sense of safety. Jazmin Louie said her younger siblings won't be having any more Halloween treats.

"My mom will probably toss it now," she said.

Police said the school resource officer is letting principals know about the drugs, and hope to spread the word that parents need to check their children's candy if they went trick-or-treating in the Promenade area.

Voters in California are going to the polls Tuesday to decide key issues from drug-testing medical professionals to financing relief from a statewide drought.

The Field Poll is projecting a new low in California voter turnout for a general election, while the percentage casting vote-by-mail ballots could hit a new high.

The report released Tuesday predicts a 46.1 percent turnout. Of those who will vote, 60 percent will cast vote-by-mail ballots.

This is the regularly scheduled gubernatorial election that includes other statewide races: Lieutenant Governor, Assembly and State Senate seats as well as Congressional seats.

Gov. Jerry Brown is seeking an unprecedented fourth term in a race with moderate, first-time candidate Neel Kashkari, a former U.S. Treasury official.

A handful of congressional contests could go either way including the hotly contested race between Republican Carl DeMaio and incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Peters.

Prop 1, a $7.5 billion water infrastructure bond, would invest in new water storage increasing the amount of water that can be stored during wet years for the dry year, according to the Yes on Prop 1 campaign. Opponents to Prop 1 say the measure does little to relieve the current drought and will require taxpayer repayment of $360 million per year for 40 years.

A yes vote for Prop 2 would amend the California Constitution to change the way debts are paid and money is saved in reserves. Local school district budget reserves would be capped in some years. Opponents say it's bad for schools because it would give schools less than the minimum guarantee for school funding, while putting aside the difference to help the state's cash flow.

Proposition 46 - or the Patient Safety Act - would increase the cap on damages in malpractice lawsuits and allow for drug testing of doctors.

Proposition 47 – also known as the “Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Initiative” – aims to reclassify current non-violent crimes like drug possession or petty theft from felonies to misdemeanors, unless the prisoner has prior convictions for violent and serious crimes.

A yes vote for Prop 48 would ratify compacts made between the state and the North Fork Rancheria of Mono Indians and the Wiyot Tribe. Opponents say the measure breaks the promise made years ago that Indian gaming will be only on tribal reservation land.

In Encinitas, a majority vote in support of Prop F would adopt an ordinance to permit and regulate medicinal marijuana dispensaries. Opponents say that if approved, Prop F would make Encinitas the pot destination of North County.

In La Mesa, a similar ballot measure is up for voters' consideration but it is labeled Prop J. Supporters there call it a "win-win" for the city while opponents say that if approved, the measure would damage the city's image.

Prop H in Escondido would adopt the Lake Specifics Plan for property abandoned by the Escondido Country Club. Supporters say a yes vote would add more than 150 jobs for two years and millions of dollars into the city's general fund. Those opposing Prop H say, among other things, the development would add hundreds of students to already overcrowded schools.

More than a dozen mayoral races are taking place around the county including a divisive race in Escondido with incumbent Sam Abed being challenged by City Councilmember Olga Diaz. 

Other cities with mayoral races include Carlsbad, Chula Vista, El Cajon, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, National City, Poway and Vista.

San Diegan Ron Nehring, the Republican candidate for the state's lieutenant governor, is challenging incumbent Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom.

There will be close to 1500 polling places across the county.

Use the NBC 7's Voter's Edge Voter's Guide to find out more about your ballot, polling place and funding for ballot measures.

Voting begins at 7 a.m. with polls closing at 8 p.m. Watch NBC 7 beginning at 8 p.m. as results come in from around the state.

Polls have closed across the state and the waiting game has begun.

Every polling place in Connecticut except two locations in Hartford closed at 8 p.m. as scheduled. Those two exemptions were among several city polling stations hampered by missing registration lists early Tuesday and remained open for an extra half hour.

The extended hours applied to District 6, the Batchelder School at 757 New Britain Avenue, and District 1, the United Methodist Church at 571 Farmington Avenue.

All registered voters who arrived at those polling stations by 8:30 p.m. were permitted to vote, but the turnout during that extra half hour was unimpressive. Only nine voters cast valid ballots after 8 p.m. at the Batchelder School.

"It was the ruling of electoral officials, either monitors or registrars, that denied people the opportunity to vote in an alternative fashion when the voting lists were not ready at 6 a.m.," Judge Carl Schuman explained, referring to voters who were stalled or turned away while waiting for registration lists to arrive.

Malloy campaign attorney William Bloss said at least 10 of the city's 24 polling places opened as late as 7:30 a.m. because voter registration lists weren't delivered on time. Schuman denied the campaign's request to extend voting hours at eight of the 10 affected precincts, because, he said, alternatives were offered.

At the Hartford Seminary, for example, voters wrote their names, addresses and phone numbers on blank pieces of paper before receiving ballots. Moderators looked at voter identification and placed the ballots in an "auxiliary pile" to be checked against the registration lists when they arrived, a witness for the Foley campaign said in court.

That wasn't the case at all polling stations, according to other witnesses. Some city residents who were forced to wait for the registration lists gave up and left for work Tuesday morning without casting their ballots.

"One guy was working in New Haven, another in West Springfield. Another lady was catching an airplane. They're not going to come back. So their votes are lost," explained Lynda Baio, who said she waited more than an hour to cast her vote at the Hartford Senior Center.

"Throughout the city, the right thing that should have taken place this morning was allow the voter to vote, write their names down and issue a ballot. We don't stop the process; I apologize if people, moderators, election officials, did not recall that from the training and put that into practice this morning," said Hartford's Democratic Registrar of Voters Olga Vázquez.

Although representatives from the Foley campaign said the ruling is "not really" beneficial to them, campaign communications director Mark McNulty said Republicans would abide by the judge's ruling.

"These types of snafus end up undermining confidence in elections," McNulty said. "But the show must go on."

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said after the ruling that her office "is referring these circumstances and the apparent gross dereliction of duty by Hartford's Registrars of Voters to the State Election Enforcement Commission for further investigation to determine if any state election laws were violated."

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra called the situation "inexcusable and unacceptable."

"In days to follow, we will undertake an investigation to make sure that those who are responsible for that will be held accountable for the actions or lack of actions," Segarra said during an afternoon news conference alongside Malloy. "I think that I really want to do everything possible in the next couple of days to ensure that this never, never happens again."

The governor emphasized the importance of allowing all voters to cast their ballots and said a number of votes were likely lost due to the polling problems in Hartford this morning.

“I think it is fundamental that people have the right to vote and that people have an equal right to vote, which means an equal amount of time and that the polls begin opening at the same time," Malloy said. "That clearly has not opened in here Hartford today and that is a mistake, and one that can affect people’s votes.”

President Barack Obama, who visited Connecticut over the weekend to rally support for Malloy, called into the Colin McEnroe radio show Tuesday afternoon, urging voters to get to the polls. During the interview, McEnroe asked the president about the Malloy campaign's complaint.

"We should make it as easy as possible for as many people as possible to vote," Obama said.

It's the second time Malloy and Foley face off in a battle for governorship. During the 2010 election, voting problems in Bridgeport prompted extended voting hours and days of recounts before Foley conceded to Malloy.

A gas line ruptured in Ocean Beach Tuesday morning, prompting utility crews to cordon off a section of the seaside community.

A gas line broke at 7:20 a.m. at the corner of Abbott and Saratoga. Only the construction crew was ordered to evacuate.

San Diego Fire-Rescue crews responded and set up a perimeter until San Diego Gas & Electric crews could arrive and shut down the leak.

SDG&E said it was a one-inch line that was ruptured by a backhoe digging a trench. 

No one was injured. 

Steve Scatolini said he was late for work because the area was blocked off.

“But that’s better than being blown up,” he added.

Contra Costa County's elections website was down Tuesday due to a problem with a web hosting company that is affecting a number of counties nationwide.

The website was down for more than three hours until about 1:05 p.m. when Contra Costa County's website appeared to be functioning, along with the websites of two other affected governments, Ventura and Shasta County.

Assistant Registrar Scott Konopasek said that software vendor SOE Software, which the county has worked with for the past seven years, had initially thought bandwidth or capacity issues might be responsible for the breakdown.

• Click here for NBC Bay Area's Election Day coverage

Konopasek said the outage would not affect the county's ability to count and process votes, but has made it harder for voters to look up information, including the locations of their police places.

"It's a customer service issue," Konopasek said.

A representative from SOE, Maureen Szlemp, told the Investigative Unit they were aware of intermittent outages at the three California counties. The problem was due to much higher traffic volumes than they had anticipated, Szlemp said.

"We are in the process of redistributing the loads to different servers," she said.

Other county websites that utilize SOE software include Sacramento County, Santa Clara County and Los Angeles County. Those websites apparently continued function without any issues.

Elections officials are cross-posting polling locations and other election information to the county's main web site at. They will do the same with election results if the problem persists past 8 p.m. when the polls close. More information is also at the state's elections website.

Bay City News contributed to this report.

Firefighters are battling a brush fire on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County.

The fire started just before 11 a.m. Tuesday in the Juliet impact area in the southeastern part of the base, officials said.

As of 2 p.m., the fire was holding at seven acres, according to the Camp Pendleton Fire Department. Crews had stopped the fire's spread and were starting to mop up by 12:15 p.m. 

No injuries were reported.

People in the North County could see gray smoke billowing into the sky late Tuesday morning.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for San Diego's inland valley, coastal foothills and mountains. That means a combination of hot temperatures, low humidity and strong winds makes conditions favorable for wildfires. The Red Flag Warning expires at 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Two Marines are charged with assault and battery against San Diego police officers – and part of the incident was caught on police body camera.

The attorney for one of those Marines, 21-year-old Robert Reginato, is calling it an abuse of power.

The incident happened Sept. 21 in the Gaslamp District. The body cam video shows Reginato being shoved to the ground by police. It happened after his friend charged at officers twice.

The video then shows a sergeant pounding Reginato with a flurry of punches. Another police officer can be heard yelling, " Sarg! Sarg! Sarg!"

According to the police report, Reginato “forcibly grabbed an officer to free his friend from police. When an officer attempted to arrest him, he resisted. The only way he was taken into custody is after the sargent punched him several times in the face."

Reginato is currently on restriction from the Marine Corps because of the incident.

His attorney Paul Neuharth says he’s appalled, adding his client was out celebrating a friend’s return from Afghanistan and a birthday.

Neuharth says the Marines were trying to administer First Aid to someone who got knocked out during a street fight, but police pushed them back.

“You got two Marines that will be kicked out of the Marine Corps as a result of this if convicted of those felonies, which started as giving First Aid to an unconscious person they never knew,” Neuharth said.

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office issued the following statement:

"We can only file criminal charges when we believe we can prove them beyond a reasonable doubt, as we do in this case. We are moving forward with the case and will be presenting evidence at the upcoming preliminary hearing."
 

A needle-free Ebola vaccine is getting a lot of attention at a convention taking place this week in San Diego.

The nose spray, which is not yet named, is the latest effort against the Ebola outbreak. So far, it’s showing promising results, according to the vaccine’s creator Maria Croyle.

Croyle is one of the most buzzed-about scientists at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists convention.

Croyle said she was approached by a team of first responders seven years ago who wanted a needle-free Ebola vaccine. Back then, Ebola wasn't in the headlines, and it wasn't in the U-S.

“A common reaction we would get from people was, 'really? Why are you interested in that? It (Ebola) only happens to a handful of people,” Croyle said in an exclusive interview with NBC 7.

The nasal vaccine uses a common cold virus, takes out the genes that make it infectious and replaces it with the proteins that cover the outside of the Ebola virus.

Test results have been better than expected, Croyle said. The vaccine successfully protected every monkey in the study from Ebola.

“It produces a lot of Ebola protein in a relatively short period of time, within 24 hours. We see extensive amounts of this protein being made. That's the key in the engine to fuel up the immune system to go," she said.

What makes this vaccine so attractive is how easily it can be administered. It's the only nasal Ebola vaccine currently being tested. Also, it doesn't need to be refrigerated, which could be a big plus in transporting it to West Africa.

Now, Croyle said she and her team from the University of Texas at Austin are at a crossroads. They need more funding and resources to continue clinical trials.

If trials on humans are successful, the hope is to have the vaccine approved and available for use within a year.

“It's that thing you dream about in grad school. After seven years of really working on this and people not understanding why I was so determined and driven to, I guess I deserve a little attention and appreciation from it," she said,

At least six Ebola vaccine trials are currently underway.
 

As the Chargers recover from Sunday’s awful loss to the Miami Dolphins – and frankly, anyone who watched that game needs some recovery time – let’s look at what they can learn from their first shutout loss in 15 years. Here are five things the Bolts need to do going forward:

Get back in the trenches: How many times did the offensive front get pushed back? Yes, this is a line depleted with injuries. That’s no excuse for rushing 19 times for just 50 yards (2.6 yards per carry) and giving up four sacks. On the other side of the ball, Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill stayed upright the entire day, was rarely pressured and had plenty of room to run when he was.

Put points on the board early: It’s hard to second-guess Chargers coach Mike McCoy (just ask him). But a lot of talk following the game came from the first drive, when the Chargers went for it on fourth down and 1 at the Dolphins 22 instead of kicking a field goal. It’s hard to imagine that the team wouldn’t reach the red zone the rest of the game. And you gotta love the faith the coach has in his team, but you also need to get some points out of that drive.

Get the D off the field: While the Chargers were busy failing to convert a third down pretty much all day (just one after that first drive), it seemed the defense was giving up first downs on every drive. On the day, Miami converted 8-of-14 third downs, including a pair or touchdowns and a 50-yard gain on third-and-6 in the second quarter.

“Defensively, we didn’t make enough stops at critical times in the game, for one reason or another,” McCoy said.

Hold on to the ball: Coming into Sunday, the Chargers had just five turnovers on the year. Quarterback Philip Rivers quickly changed that, throwing three interceptions and fumbling away another possession.

It was uncharacteristic for Rivers to be that clumsy with the football, but it’s a sign of bad things when he is. This season, he’s thrown 14 touchdowns to just one interception in the team’s five wins, while throwing just six TDs to seven picks in their losses.

“Anytime you turn the ball over four times in this league, it’s going to be tough to win any football games,” McCoy said. “We’ve got to do a better job offensively of protecting the football.

Don’t get down: The coaching staff has preached all season that it’s just one game – both in wins and losses. They’ll have to press hard to get the team to believe that after Sunday. Still, they have a week to regroup, have the lowly Raiders coming to town after that, and are still in fairly good shape for a playoff berth. That’s assuming they can correct the mistakes above.

San Diego County and other parts of Southern California are at risk of increased fire danger due to low humidity and wind gusts in the forecast.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning just after 9 a.m. Tuesday for San Diego's inland valleys, coastal foothills and mountains.

Warming temperatures, coupled with offshore winds will create extremely low humidity levels, said NBC 7 Meteorologist Jodi Kodesh. San Diegans can expect very dry conditions, with humidity percentages falling in the 5 to 10 percent range, she said.

Residents can expect NE or E winds ranging from 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph, according to the NWS.

According to the Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index, San Diego County is under moderate threat for significant fire activity, meaning that upon ignition, fires will grow rapidly and will be difficult to control.

County officials recommend residents make sure they have emergency preparedness kit ready, charge cell phones and gas up vehicles.

The red flag warning is in effect until 9 p.m. Wednesday.

San Diego-area military families are taking action because of an alleged threat from ISIS to seek out and kill U.S. service members here at home.

“There are bad guys out there that are trying to put together pieces of the puzzle and your job is to not give them as many pieces,” said Navy wife Kate Kotschwar.

The Army Threat Integration Center (ARTIC) is tasked with alerting Army commands around the world of criminal and terrorist threats.

In an alert posted at the end of September, ARTIC reported that ISIS has called on lone offenders in the U.S. to use the phone book yellow pages and social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to find addresses of service members and slaughter them.

In San Diego, the Armed Services YMCA said military families are taking the ISIS threat seriously. Some of them have expressed fear in counseling sessions. Others have even deleted their social media accounts.

Kotschwar said she limits what she posts on social media for the safety of her family. One thing she avoids, she said, is putting military-related bumper stickers on her car so as not to draw unwanted attention.

Her experience as a Navy family ombudsman taught her these precautions are ones military families have been taking long before ISIS.

The ARTIC special assessment urged service members not to post personal or work contact information on social media or reveal government or military affiliation.

It also suggests family members of military personnel not allow any applications access to their locations.

Other precautions suggested by ARTIC include:

• Think before you post. Always assume everyone in the world will be able to see what you are posting, or tweeting, even if the site limits your posts to your friends and family.
• Limit who can view your social media sites; but do not trust these settings as absolute
• Avoid posting your home or work address and phone numbers; and any government or military affiliation
• Avoid providing detailed accounts of your day (e.g., when you leave for or return from work)
• Never allow applications to geolocate your location
• Always lock doors, windows and garages
• Make sure home entrances are well-lighted, and minimize bushes where intruders can hide before their
• ambush
• Use the peephole before opening the door to anyone
• Don't use the chain latch to open the door part-way
• Don't open the door to solicitors or strangers
• Install solid-core doors, heavy-duty locks and window security systems
• Establish a safehaven
• Hold a family meeting to work out home security plans

A toddler not in a child safety seat was hurt when the car he was riding in crashed and overturned along Interstate 8 near Jacumba Tuesday.

Five people were in a 2013 Dodge Avenger when it drifted off the edge of eastbound I-8 at approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday.

The vehicle hit several rocks and overturned.

California Highway Patrol officers say the toddler, described by officials as a 2-year-old boy, was in a seat belt but not in a child safety seat. He suffered major injuries and was rushed to Rady Children’s Hospital by ground ambulance.

An 11-month old boy also suffered minor injuries. He was buckled into a child safety seat, CHP officers said.

The driver and passenger, described as a man and woman in their early 20s from Ramona, were airlifted to Sharp Memorial Hospital with major injuries, CHP officers said.

Another passenger, described as a 45-year-old woman, was transported to Sharp Memorial with minor injuries.

The cause of the collision was still under investigation.

A tractor trailer traveling on Interstate 5 flipped over, blocking lanes south of the checkpoint Tuesday evening.

The California Highway Patrol says the driver of the big rig ran into the freeway's center divide and rolled the vehicle over at about 7 p.m. just north of Camp Pendleton. One other vehicle was struck, but the driver inside was not injured.

The big rig's driver suffered minor injuries.

The far left lanes were blocked by the truck, which forced CHP to issue a Sig Alert set to expire at 1 a.m.

Crews needed to bring in a large crane to lift the semi-truck onto its wheels.

Cell phone video of a San Diego Police officer arresting a 15-year-old student on the Lincoln High School campus will be part of an internal investigation to ensure the officer acted appropriately.

The video shot last Friday shows freshman Eric Smith getting pulled to the ground by an officer performing a vascular neck restraint, also known as a “choke hold.”

“It’s allowed under certain circumstances” said SDPD Captain Jorge Duran, who added the move is permitted under the department’s force matrix guidelines.

The student taking the cell phone video can be heard yelling “Look at what they’re doing to this kid.”

Smith’s mother Desiree Grant saw it for the first time Sunday morning.

“I literally broke down at church just from what I seen,” said Grant.

The video doesn’t show what prompted the confrontation. Smith was drunk; he admits to ditching his second period class to drink vodka with friends.

He passed out five hours later on the football field bleachers during an in-school homecoming rally while listening to music on a classmate’s phone.

During Smith’s drunken nap, he says someone took the phone, and when the classmate accused him of stealing it, police were notified.

The SDPD officer was on campus assisting a San Diego Unified School District officer because it was a busy Halloween Friday.

The officers searched Smith’s pockets. They didn’t find the phone, but they did find a lighter which is not allowed on school grounds.

“When they went to take the lighter from him, he resisted and they began to struggle with the student,” said Duran.

Smith, suspended for two days by the district, says he can’t stop thinking about the incident and can’t sleep.

“I felt like they did too much, they didn’t have to do all that,” he said.

His mom agrees. “He is facing punishment from me. I’m not sugar coating his behavior, but the excessive force and the choke hold and the manner they conducted themselves didn’t set well with me,” said Grant. “At no time was that officer’s life threatened where he had to use excessive force.”

Adding to Grant’s frustration, she says she wasn’t notified of the incident until 5 p.m., three hours after it happened. By that time, her son had already been booked into Juvenile Hall for felony battery on an officer.

The San Diego Police Department says it will conduct an internal investigation into the incident and arrest after Grant filed an official complaint. The department now looks into every single citizen complaint as part of a renewed effort toward transparency.

A San Diego woman says she was turned away at the polls because she brought her children with her to vote, a complaint which is now under investigation by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

Voting is every citizen’s right, and in every state in the union, engaging your kids in the process is encouraged, but mother of two Samantha Anderson told NBC 7 that was not the case at her polling station.

Anderson said she brought her mother and her kids ages 4 and 6 to teach them how important the democratic process is.

They didn't get past the first poll workers at the Neil Good Day Center. Anderson said she was not permitted inside with her two children.

Instead of an explanation, Anderson said she was told to call the boss in the morning. The center is a homeless shelter run by the Alpha Project.

NBC 7 called and left a message at the center, but poll workers told us they could not speak with the media.

Anderson's voter information guide indicates this is her proper polling station but says nothing about children.

Rather than leave her kids and their grandmother on the street while she went to vote, the four left without casting a ballot.

“It's kind of like you are being turned away because you are a woman or because of your race. I didn't like it at all. It's not a good feeling to be turned away because I have children,” Anderson said.

Assistant County Registrar Cynthia Paes says children are allowed in polling stations and they are even permitted in the voting booths.

Oftentimes parents use it as a teaching opportunity and the registrar encourages that.

Paes says this is the first such complaint they have had and they intend to investigate.

This Sunday, leave your car in the garage or in its parking spot.

From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., parts of Hillcrest and Bankers Hill will be shut off to cars.

It’s part of the third CicloSDias, an event that promotes biking, walking, skating and other non-motorized modes of transportation.

“We really want people just to get out, experience the neighborhood in a different way, support the local businesses,” said Andy Hanshaw, Executive Director of the San Diego Bike Coalition.

Sixth Avenue will be closed from Laurel Street to University Avenue. University will be blocked from Sixth to the Hillcrest Farmers Market on Normal Street. Some side streets will also be closed, but the main thoroughfares of Fifth Avenue, Washington Street and Robinson Avenue will be open to traffic.

The group has sponsored previous car-free events in North Park/South Park and Pacific Beach.

CicloSDias coincides with the launch of the city’s new bike sharing program. On Monday, the city installed the first of 180 bike rental stations across San Diego.

CicloSDias is named after the "Ciclovía" movement, a Spanish word that translates to “bike path” in English, according to the CicloSDias website.

Marked by attack ads, sexual harassment allegations and a campaign headquarters break-in scandal, one of the nation’s most contentious and closely watched races comes to an end as 52nd Congressional District residents cast their ballots for Democrat incumbent Congressman Scott Peters or Republican challenger Carl DeMaio.

With 100 percent of local precincts reporting, DeMaio has a 752 vote lead over Peters, though the county registrar says about 180,000 mail and provisional ballots have yet to be counted.

The two candidates spent Election Day 2014 working for last minute votes, and they took time in the evening to address and thank supporters.

When the early results came in at about 8 p.m., Peters said he is happy to be where they stood.

"It could be a long night, but I think it will be a good one," he said. "So I want to thank you for your confidence in me. It means a lot to me."

DeMaio spoke to his staff and supporters just after 11 p.m., showing his appreciation for their work.

"I want to start out by thanking voters, and while we must wait a little while longer to find out exactly what the voters have decided, I feel very confident that in the end, we shall prevail," DeMaio said.

Despite high-profile mudslinging that came to typify this race, both candidates felt they ran strong campaigns.

“I feel really good,” said DeMaio. “I feel that we laid out a campaign based on my record of helping save San Diego from brink of bankruptcy of making government work here. We laid out positive ideas in Washington to fix the problems back there.”

“I don't know what else we can do," said Peters. "We'll see what the voters say, it's been an honor to serve, and I hope that they honor me with two more years, and if they do, I will work every day to bring the Congress that America deserves and we can be proud of again.”

The race is so close, final tallies may not be in by Tuesday night.

Controversy in the race began six days before June’s primary election, when DeMaio reported a break-in at his campaign headquarters. Computer screens were shattered, cords and cables were cut, water was poured over the electronics and DeMaio’s campaign strategy book disappeared, the candidate said.

In a taping of NBC 7’s “Politically Speaking” in October, Peters said he felt as if he’d initially been cast as the perpetrator of the break-in, though DeMaio later accused former staffer Todd Bosnich.

While the cameras were rolling, DeMaio then confronted Peters about the fate of that campaign playbook. Peters admitted “information” about his opponent’s strategy was forwarded to his staff, but he said he never looked through it and handed it over to police within 24 hours.

As for Bosnich, DeMaio alleged he was the break-in culprit at the same time Bosnich released the results of a polygraph test that he says supports his claims that the candidate sexually harassed him.

In a CNN report on Oct. 10, Bosnich said he was the victim of unwelcome touching and repeated sexual harassment by DeMaio while working for him on the congressional campaign and during his 2012 mayoral run. Bosnich described an alleged incident where he was called to DeMaio’s office and the candidate exposed himself.

DeMaio said his former employee had “manufactured a story” to cover for a plagiarism incident and that the allegations are completely false.

The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office and the Chief of San Diego Police announced on Oct. 20 there is not enough evidence to support Bosnich’s claims and to press charges. At the same time, both agencies said there would be no charges filed in the headquarters break-in either.

Over the weekend, another former campaign staffer, Justin Harper, told KPBS DeMaio had exposed himself in a restroom on July 10, an accusation the DeMaio campaign called an “outrageous lie.”

On Sunday, protesters outside DeMaio's campaign headquarters demanded an apology for sexist emails they say he sent.

Their claim stems from an email DeMaio purportedly sent in January featuring a demeaning image of a Peters campaign aide. DeMaio has denied sending the email and told the UT San Diego that Bosnich fabricated it.

Peters addressed the email scandal Sunday, saying it was time for DeMaio to "come clean" on it.

"I wish that Mr. DeMaio would've taken the opportunity to say ‘I did it, was a weak moment’ or whatever he has to say — but come clean with people. Tell the truth apologize when it's necessary. I've never seen him apologize for anything," Peters said.

DeMaio, meanwhile, blamed Peters’ campaign for perpetuating the sexual harassment controversy.

"Scott Peters continues to use false personal smears against me rather than focusing on the issues that San Diegans care about. That's why I'm not going to join him in the mud. I'm not going to worry about the false personal smears he's throwing against me," he said.

The tension in the race was evident in a failed handshake moment just before the taping of the "Politically Speaking" episode, when DeMaio walked right by Peters’ hand outstretched for a handshake.

NBC 7 will keep you updated on the latest results from this important race. Visit our Decision 2014 Results page to track this and other races.

The polls have closed and results are trickling in for the 2014 gubernatorial election, where voters decided on a host of propositions, state political offices and municipal positions.

By 1:33 a.m. Wednesday, the San Diego County Registrar of Voters listed 100 percent of precincts reporting results, though no results are official until another 180,000 mail and provisional ballots are counted.

Arguably the most hotly contested race is that between Democrat incumbent U.S. Rep. Scott Peters and Republican challenger Carl DeMaio as they battle for California’s 52nd Congressional District, with DeMaio taking an initial lead.

But the open San Diego City Council 6th District seat is another close race coming down to the wire. It has no incumbent because redistricting after the 2010 census moved Councilmember Lori Zapf’s home into the new 2nd District, where she won that seat in the June primary.

A Democrat has held the seat since Kevin Faulconer became mayor, but the next to inherit the job will either be Democrat Carol Kim or Republican Chris Cate.

Kim is an educator with support from the party and organized labor community. Cate is a businessman and taxpayer advocate who hopes to restore a GOP seat on the council, which has three Republicans and six Democrats.

Whoever wins District 6, San Diego will have its first Asian-American on the city council since Tom Hom in the late 1960s.

As of early Wednesday morning, Cate had the lead with 55 percent of the vote.

Meanwhile, voters in Escondido are tasked with deciding who will become the next mayor: either incumbent Mayor Sam Abed or Deputy Mayor Olga Diaz. Abed had a commanding lead over Diaz with 61 percent of the precincts' votes.

The controversial Prop H was expected to become a deciding factor in that race. It proposed turning the former Escondido Golf Court into tract housing with up to 430 homes, but 61 percent of voters have said no.

In Chula Vista, early results show South Bay is poised to elect the first Latina mayor in San Diego County history. Mary Salas was beating her opponent Jerry Rindone with 52 percent of the votes.

Salas was celebrating on Tuesday night, telling her supports it was a proud moment for her and her family, who have lived in Chula Vista in 1919.

Other local cities with mayoral races include Carlsbad, El Cajon, Encinitas, Imperial Beach, La Mesa, National City, Poway and Vista.

In Encinitas, a majority vote stopped Prop F, which would have adopted an ordinance to permit and regulate medicinal marijuana dispensaries.

In La Mesa, a similar ballot measure failed with 54 percent of voters saying no. Supporters there called Prop J a "win-win" for the city while opponents said the measure would damage the city's image.

For initial election results, visit our Decision 2014 Race Results page by clicking here.

In the hotly contested Escondido mayor race, early results show incumbent Sam Abed capturing 63 percent of the votes over Deputy Mayor Olga Diaz.

With 30 percent of ballots counted, Abed had garnered 7,351 of the votes over Diaz's 3,546 votes.

Diaz; who has served on the Escondido City Council for six years with Abed, a staunch Republican businessman; is a Democrat in Republican-heavy Escondido.

The contentious Escondido mayoral race was as much about the local Proposition H -- and the candidates' viewpoints on the proposition -- as the candidates vying for the seat.

The proposition would have turned the former Escondido Country Club golf course into a housing track with up to 430 homes. Early results show the proposition losing, with 61 percent of voters saying no.

Opponents of the proposition were celebrating Tuesday night at a wine bar in downtown Escondido.

"Now it's time to set aside our differences and work together to develop a plan that's good for everyone," 'No on H' campaign consultant Tony Manolatos said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Proponents had pumped more than $1 million into the "Yes on H" campaign, but it apparently wasn't enough to sway voters.

Many thought the area surrounding the country club didn't have the infrastructure and water for the project.

"I think it's a real comment on how hard people work, but also it's a reminder that money doesn't necessarily trump message and hard work by volunteers," said John Hoy, "No on H" campaign consultant.

Michael Schlesinger, the owner of property behind Proposition H, issued this statement:

"Unfortunately, no one 'won' tonight. All you have to do is look at the current condition of the property. Our team and those who support us will move forward to restore the accurate and original zoning of the land through the legal system. We are very confident that we will prevail in the California courts."

Diaz favored the proposition, saying it was a good compromise for the community because the property owner agreed to add a public pool and recreation center.

Abed stayed neutral on the issue, noting he wants to leave the decision up to voters.

Late last month, Abed was on track to raise a record $250,000 for his campaign; Diaz has raised about half of that.

Two NYPD officers pleaded not guilty in Brooklyn on assault and official misconduct charges for allegedly punching and hitting a 16-year-old drug suspect in the face with a gun while the teen had his hands up. 

Officers David Afandor and Tyrane Isaac surrendered at the Brooklyn district attorney's office Wednesday, authorities said.

The district attorney's office has been investigating the officers since a video surfaced last month showing them hitting the boy without apparent provocation.

The surveillance footage, which was originally obtained by DNAInfo.com, shows the officers catch up to the teen after a brief chase in Bedford-Stuyvesant. As the suspect stops running one officer throws a punch at his face. Then the other officer hits him with his gun after the teen raises his hands in the air.

The teenager was arrested Aug. 29. Prosecutors said the teen ended up pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and was released.

The teen's lawyer has said officers had no reason to stop him in the first place.

"My client was leaving a friend's apartment, he committed absolutely no crime, he did absolutely nothing wrong, and these officers decided to chase him," said Amy Rameau. "They chased him and they brutalized him."

"You don't get to stop anyone you feel like stopping in the streets when there's no probable cause," she said. 

One of the officers, who are from the 79th Precinct, was suspended without pay last month, and the other was placed on modified duty. The NYPD said Tuesday the matter remains under internal review. 

Attorney for both officers, Stephen Worth, said the video doesn't tell the whole story.

"This is not the first time that police officers have been confronted with so-called damning videotape," Worth said Wednesday. "It's only damning because it lacks the context which the officers and the other evidence will provide."