After more than two weeks of recounts and multiple disputed votes, the verdict is in for California’s 16th Congressional District.
Councilman Evan Low narrowly defeated Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian for second place, meaning Low will go up against first-place finisher former San Jose Mayor Sam Sam Liccardo remains on the November ballot. During the recount, Jho Low received 12 votes and Simitian received 7 votes.
The switch gave Loew five votes The advantage, dashing Simitian’s chances of replacing retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Menlo Park) to represent a coveted, safe Democratic Northern California district.
The unprecedented tie for second place in Congress means all three candidates will appear on the November ballot if the result is confirmed. This will be the first three-way race since the state switched to a nonpartisan primary system in 2012, which puts the top two finishers on the November ballot regardless of party affiliation.
The results of Wednesday’s recount come after a shocking month in Silicon Valley politics, in which the race disrupted local affairs, sparked massive mudslinging and added a layer of uncertainty to the upcoming election.
“It is not uncommon for recounts to change vote totals, especially in such a large jurisdiction,” Santa Clara County Assistant Registrar of Voters Matt Morais said in a statement Tuesday. “Because this contest is extremely It’s close, with both candidates tied for second place exactly, so even small changes could have an impact on the outcome.” The district covers parts of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
The Santa Clara County Elections Office said the changes in the recount could be explained in a number of ways. In some cases, “when ballots are marked in unusual ways,” a voter’s intent is called into question and then requires explanation. Some ballots deemed ineligible in the initial count were also questioned, with the county determining seven of those ballots were valid and could be included in the recount. Human error also affected a very small number of votes in the original count, for example, a batch of 12 votes was processed but not counted because an operator mistakenly pressed the wrong button after scanning the ballots before the recount.
After leading several times, Simitien and Loew each received 30,249 votes in the initial count, which was finalized shortly before the recount began earlier this month. Liccardo ultimately received 38,489 votes, far ahead of the other two candidates.
Election officials in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties began recounts on April 15, with each party accusing each other of playing politics and trying to manipulate the democratic system.
Low initially tried to block the recount through his lawyers, claiming certain deadlines had been missed, according to a letter obtained by The Mercury News. But the effort was unsuccessful.
Under California law, any voter can request a recount as long as they are willing to pay the cost. This particular request came from Padilla, a tech entrepreneur who has been active in San Jose politics for decades, a former Liccardo campaign staffer who posts frequently about cryptocurrencies.
On April 9, the same day Padilla filed the recount request, a new independent spending committee called “The Count” was formed.
Padilla told The Times that he has put “some” money into the PAC, and people who “have supported Sam in the past” and “care a lot about democracy” have also put in some money, but declined to disclose specifics. He said all will be disclosed in the next federal filing in July.
Eshoo, the current occupier of the seat the candidates are vying for, attacked the opacity of super PAC finances, MP says Without full transparency, the entire electoral outlook will be cast into a “shadow”.
Another member of Congress, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Fremont), took a harsh approach to the recount itself, Calling it “a crude political tactic” and arguing that a recount would be an “undemocratic” attempt to overturn the will of voters. Khanna supported Low in the game and Eshoo supported Simitian.
The attacks came to a head late last month, when local prosecutors filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging that Liccardo’s campaign illegally coordinated with “a newly formed dark money super PAC to conduct the CD-16 recount.” Ticket Bidding”.
Liccardo political consultant Orrin Evans said his candidate had nothing to do with the recount and described the complaint as interference lacking any evidence.
The overwhelmingly Democratic district that Liccardo and Lowe seek to represent covers parts of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, including the cities of Palo Alto, Mountain View and parts of San Jose.
According to the California Target Book, Santa Clara County accounts for the vast majority of voters in this district, with about 82% living in the county and about 18% living in San Mateo County.
