A race to recount will be soon underway in California as election officials begin to prepare for the historic battle between Democrats Betty Yee and John Perez. This grasping for second place in the State Controller’s race from the June 3 Primary Election will determine who will face Republican Ashley Swearingen for the position in November.
Prior election outcomes were changed in two of four statewide races as tight as this one in the entire U.S. since 2000 according to the Sacramento Bee. Perez, former State Assembly Speaker, called for the recount as results put him just 481 votes behind Yee in a race that saw over 4 million total votes case, a difference of merely one hundredth of one percent.
Perez has requested that 15 counties be recounted starting with Kern and Imperial simultaneously followed by the remaining 13, reported the SacBee. Perez will be required to provide the funding for the recounts before each day of counting, as California does not automatically institute recounts in close races.
Perez beat Yee in both Kern and Imperial counties, but Swearingen carried Kern County with a sizeable lead that showed Swearingen 38.3%, Perez 8.1% and Yee 8.4%.
Should the recount turn the results in Perez’s favor, State Board of Equalization Member Yee has the right to call for recounts of counties of her choosing within 24 hours. The expectation is the Yee would call for recounts in counties where she did well and expects she could pick up votes.
As the Secretary of State’s office is dealing with this issue, November’s general election for the office of Secretary of State will see Republican Pete Peterson face off against Democrat Alex Padilla for the right to deal with future recounts as one function of the office. A number of political insiders say that, in a state that is heavy in Democrat state level elected officials, Peterson has a decent chance to see victory in November.