Santa Barbara School Board Area 1: Karlsen Ahead of Philibosian in Unofficial Returns

SANTA BARBARA, Santa Barbara County — November 4, 2026. Jacqueline “Inda” Karlsen leads Mark Philibosian in the Santa Barbara Unified School District Trustee Area 1 election.

Preliminary candidate totals

Karlsen has 3,362 votes (63.99%), Philibosian has 1,866 (35.52%), and there are 26 write-ins.

How to interpret the contest

Trustee Area 1 is a different electoral area from the district’s Trustee Area 4. These are school governing-board elections, not Santa Barbara City Council contests. Final results require the county canvass.

Not yet certified

The reporting cutoff is the Santa Barbara County Elections “Election Night — Final Update Unofficial Results” for November 3, 2026. That designation means the final election-night bulletin, not the certified vote. Even though the report lists all assigned precincts, eligible ballots can remain to be counted during the official canvass. County certification, not an interim article, confirms the winners.

Source: Santa Barbara County Elections official unofficial election-night results. California58 statewide coverage.

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