Arizona AG gives county OK for full ballot hand counts
Monday
Sep 29, 2014 at 11:17 AMSep 29, 2014 at 11:18 AM
In a setback for the two sides of the dispute over the recall of San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Carl DeMaio, federal and state judges have approved a proposal by Attorney General Kamala Harris to hold full, uncensored re-counts of ballots in a San Diego County Board of Supervisors recall election.
Mark Silva
In a setback for the two sides of the dispute over the recall of San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Carl DeMaio, federal and state judges have approved a proposal by Attorney General Kamala Harris to hold full, uncensored re-counts of ballots in a San Diego County Board of Supervisors recall election.
The request was first made by Supervisor Kevin Faulconer and DeMaio’s lawyer, who said Harris’ office had the authority to seek a court order to give the uncensored recount requested by DeMaio the greenlight it requested.
Harris’ move also was designed to allow a court to decide whether the results of the full, uncensored ballots should be allowed to stand — a decision that could be crucial as supervisors weigh whether to call new elections. DeMaio voted against the supervisors’ rejection of DeFeo’s plan to count the uncensored ballots.
“We believe the people of San Diego County will want to see the truth that the supervisors did not properly count the ballots in this race,” DeMaio said after the ruling was handed down.
DeMaio said Harris had a “clear legal right” to ask the court to allow for a full, uncensored recount in the recall election, but he was disappointed that the supervisors’ plans to count the ballots — an effort that DeMaio said had come to a standstill by the time supervisors voted last week — was not recognized by Harris’ office.
Harris’ campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. DeMaio said he expected Harris to either appeal the decision or let the case drop.
“The San Diego County Board of Supervisors has decided to take this action because they know that the people of San Diego County do not trust their supervisors,” DeMa