Banning Recount Completed, But Questions Linger

The recount for the Banning City Council District 2 race concluded yesterday, and Cindy Barrington was again declared the winner — this time by one vote.

“Well, the Riverside [County Registrar of Voters] ROV has certified the results,” Barrington said. “It still has to go to Sacramento to be certified, which I guess I shouldn’t be worried about it, but the whole thing is just so surreal that I won’t feel like it’s really over until Sacramento certifies it.”

The results showed Barrington picked up one more vote, bringing her final total to 722 votes, and Miriam Ramirez picked up five additional votes, bringing her total to 721.

Ramirez did not respond to a request for comment, but wrote in a social media post that she was extending her “heartfelt wishes” to Barrington and thanked those who supported her campaign and voted for her.

“Although I was only [one] vote behind, I believe in the power of perseverance and hopefully god gives me strength and the privilege to run again in the future,” she wrote. “Regardless of the outcome, my love and unwavering support for our community will never change. Let’s all keep an eye out for the positive changes that are sure to come in the next four years”

But those who attended the recount in support of both candidates still have some lingering questions, chief among them a handful of uncounted ballots from the Banning City Hall vote center that multiple people told The Record were found during the recount process on Monday and not disclosed until Tuesday.

“This is extraordinary,” said Jim Sutton, an attorney from Rutan and Tucker representing Keturah Chavez, who requested the recount. “I’ve been involved in elections for over 25 years, and to have a registrar’s office, after certification, find uncounted ballots, that’s the issue.”

Sutton said he would be submitting a letter to the ROV this week to demand a “comprehensive review of all ballots from all of the voting centers in the county which had these uncounted ballots that were later discovered” after the election had been certified.

“One of the reasons, besides the fact that that’s just very peculiar, we’re kind of demanding this comprehensive review of all the vote center ballots is because they didn’t provide us this information until literally the 11th hour, right before the recount was finalized [on Tuesday],” he said.

And Sutton isn’t the only one wondering what happened. Others who were at the recount, including Barrington and supporters Richard Royce and Banning Mayor Sheri Flynn, also had concerns about it.

“When we came in [Tuesday] morning, they had adjusted the tally from yesterday to give Miriam three votes, me one vote and two undervotes,” Barrington said. “So I went home [Monday] night thinking I was still four ahead, and then they came in this morning saying, ‘Oh, she got three more votes,’ and we didn’t get the opportunity to see that stack.”

In an email to The Record, ROV Public Information Officer Elizabeth Florer said that before being able to provide more clarity about these ballots, the issue would “need to be researched further.” 

In addition to the uncounted ballots, Flynn also had a number of other complaints that she submitted in a letter Monday morning to the ROV ahead of the day’s recount that included concerns about what she said was the lack of information provided to Barrington about the recount process, including the need to designate a spokesperson, and unequal enforcement of the rules for those observing the recount.

“We were definitely at a disadvantage,” Flynn said. “From day one, definitely at a disadvantage.”

Both Barrington and Flynn, in separate phone calls with The Record, said attorneys for Chavez were able to bring their briefcases, what appeared to be a manual with elections codes and rules and their cell phones in the recount area on the first day of counting, something Barrington, Royce and Flynn were told was prohibited.

“We weren’t allowed to bring anything in,” Barrington said. “You had to leave your purses, your bags, everything on a shelf when you first walked in the door, but yet, he had his briefcase. 

“He was on his phone,” she continued. “He had his binder of election law that he was quoting and citing, and we weren’t afforded that.”

Florer said cellphones were prohibited in the recount area and no special privileges were given and that information about the recount was given to the spokesperson for each side and a demonstration was provided before the start of each recount.

Royce, who was there for the entire recount, said it was “quite an interesting experience.” 

He said by the end of the recount, they had looked at all of the vote-by-mail envelopes that were not previously counted, which included those that arrived after Election Day and all of those that were not successfully cured prior to the Dec. 1 deadline. This was in addition to every single ballot that was counted and the original soiled ballots that were subsequently duplicated by ROV workers before being counted.

“Even the county said they’ve exhausted all of their relevant material, there’s nothing else left to be challenged,” Royce said. “The vote’s officially certified, and you cannot recount a recount, so the result will not change.”

Barrington called the entire recount process “disconcerting,” but was happy that the recount declared her the winner once more.

“It’s really a real life David and Goliath story, because I felt so small compared to three attorneys and big bucks,” she said. “I mean, this guy, Jim Sutton, he’s the most successful election law attorney in the state, and that’s who they hired, and that’s who I was able to beat.”