Late last month, an attorney representing a Banning resident who requested a recount of the Banning City Council District 2 race sent a letter demanding that the Riverside County Registrar of Voters (ROV) continue the recount due to what he called “serious errors and omissions.”
“We acknowledge the reality that the administration of elections is an imperfect process and that inadvertent human errors are often inevitable,” Jim Sutton, an attorney from Rutan and Tucker representing Keturah Chavez, who requested the recount, wrote. “However, in elections like this one, where a single vote separates the two candidates, additional due diligence is necessary in order to fully determine the will of the voters.”
The initial results showed newly sworn-in Councilmember Cindy Barrington won the race with 721 votes, just five votes ahead of Miriam Ramirez, who received 716 votes. Following the recount, Barrington picked up one more vote, putting her total at 722, and Ramirez picked up five, bringing her total to 721 votes.
According to Sutton, two of the five votes Ramirez picked up during the recount process came from a handful of uncounted ballots from the Banning City Hall vote center that were found to have been erroneously placed into a box of ballots that had already been processed and counted, a concern brought up by multiple people who attended the recount.
In a statement to The Record, the county said that the ROV conducted a “thorough recount of the [Banning City Council District 2] contest with integrity, and in full view of the public, as required by California law.”
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“The recount process operated as intended,” the statement continued. “Given the recount was conducted with transparency and in accordance with California law, the registrar’s office has concluded recount activities.”
Sutton, on his client’s behalf, requested that the county reopen the recount in order to conduct a “comprehensive review of all uncounted ballots at all voting centers.”
“The county declined to do that, so the only option going forward would be a lawsuit,” he said. “And my client does not want to pursue a lawsuit at this time.”
Which means that the result of the recount will hold, a relief for Barrington.
“I’m really relieved, because since they announced the recount, I haven’t really been able to relax or feel secure in my win,” she said. “So, I’m just glad that it’s done.”
Barrington called the experience “very educational,” and shared her appreciation for the folks who conducted the recount, though she said she is now looking to the future.
“I’ve got goals I would like to see for my district and for the city,” she said. “And now I can pursue those goals, and get on with just doing what I was elected to do: represent my people.”
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