In Requested Statutory Re-Tally Of Write-In Ballots, Councilman Dee Andrews Reaches 51%, Avoids Runoff, Third Term Runs Thru Mid-2020s

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In Requested Statutory Re-Tally Of Write-In Ballots, Dee Andrews Reaches 51%, Avoids Runoff, Wins Third Term Thru Mid-2020

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(April 18, 2016) -- Using a 2012 state law to require the City Clerk to hand tally a number of write-in ballots, and to count as valid those on which the voters didn't darken a required rectangular box but otherwise wrote-in the write-in candidate's name, Councilman Dee Andrews, running a write-in campaign for a third term under LB's term limits bypass procedure, has gained more than a majority of April 12 votes cast, avoiding a runoff and winning a third Council term lasting through mid-July 2020.

The results of the hand tally (enabling write-in votes that were previously disallowed) gave Andrews 51.03% of the vote (1,088 votes), Erik Miller finished second with 26.03% of the vote (556 votes) with the remainder to candidates Harmon and Villasenor. Total cast (counted) votes in the 6th district were 2,132 out of 21,382 registered voters (9.97%); when ballots including over-votes (two candidates) and under-votes (no discernable candidate) are included, there were 2,235 ballots cast for a turnout of 10.45%.

To view the full results citywide, click here.

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This afternoon (April 18), City Clerk Maria de la Luz Garcia and her staff conducted a manual review (hand tally) of each of 144 ballots, deemed "undervotes" and not counted in earlier vote tallies, because the voter either didn't write in any name or failed to darken the rectangular "bubble" next to Andrews' name.

Andrews' campaign cited a Sacramento statutory change (effective 2012) that lets a write-in candidate a request a hand tally of write-in ballots in which ballots not initially counted can be legally added to the write-in candidate's total in the following circumstances:

[Elections Code section 15342(F)(1)(A)] In the case of a primary election or a special election, the sum of the total number of votes cast for the write-in candidate and the total number of undervotes cast for the office but not examined pursuant to a hand tally is equal to or greater than the total number of votes cast for the candidate receiving the second highest number of votes for that office.
[Elections Code section 15342(F)(1)(C)(3)] In conducting a hand tally pursuant to this subdivision, the elections official shall count a vote for the office if the intent of the voter can be determined, regardless of whether the voter has complied with the voting instructions. The elections official shall include the results of a hand tally conducted pursuant to this subdivision in the official canvass of the election.

Andrews moved into position to win with that strategy after a Saturday night (April 16) tally of provisional ballots (explained below), boosted Andrews to within a handful of votes of the 50%+1 majority needed to avoid a runoff. Adding the provisional ballots gave Andrews 89 additional votes, bringing him to 49.86% (1,038 votes)...with Erik Miller drawing 26.71% of the vote (556 votes) and his total plus two other candidates receiving 50.144% (1,044 votes.).

But then Councilman Andrews' campaign submitted a written notice requesting the hand tally under Elections Code section 15342...and that process took place Monday afternoon (April 18) with a manual review of each of 144 ballots previously deemed "undervotes" [because the voter failed to make a selection in the race (i.e., blank) or wrote a name in the Certified Write In Candidate line but failed to mark the voting position (i.e., the rectangular "bubble").

The net result: the final total with the re-tallied write-in ballots gave Andrews % of the vote, avoiding a runoff and effectively re-elected to a third Council term.

The outcome of the 6th district race (as in all Council district races) will affect LB residents in all Council districts since each Councilmember has the same citywide voting power on policy matters including budget priorities, spending items, land use approvals, proposed developments and other City policies. (LB's Mayor has no voting power, only a veto which six Councilmembers can override.)

The provisional ballots counted on Saturday night (April 16) boosted Andrews to striking distance of a majority of votes cast, giving him 89 votes. Provisional ballots are those cast by a voter who claims to be properly registered but [Secretary of State website text] "but whose qualifications cannot be immediately established upon examination of the list of registered voters for the precinct or the records on file with the county elections official...[Such a voter] is entitled to cast a provisional ballot."

[CA Sec'y of State website text] The elections official must advise voters of their right to cast a provisional ballot and must provide the voter with written instructions regarding the provisional voting process and procedures. State law requires people who vote a provisional ballot to execute, in the presence of the elections official, a written affirmation, stating that they are eligible to vote and are registered in the county where they desire to vote.
Provisional ballots are delivered, along with regular ballots, to the elections office canvassing area. Using the same procedures as used with vote-by-mail envelopes, the elections official compares the signature for the provisional ballot with the signature on that voter's affidavit of registration. If the signature does not match, the ballot is rejected. (Minor variation in signatures does not invalidate the ballot.) If the signature matches, the elections official checks the voter registration database to verify whether the voter is properly registered to vote. Once the signature on the envelope has been verified and the voter's registration is confirmed, the ballot is separated from the envelope and counted as a regular ballot. If the voter's registration cannot be confirmed, the ballot is not counted, and the reason for not counting the ballot is recorded. Only the votes for contests for which the voter is eligible to vote are counted.

The 6th Council district had the highest percentage of provisional ballots per ballots cast among LB's three Council districts in this election cycle. The numbers below include ballots with "overvotes" (votes for two candidates) and ballots with "undervotes" (votes for no candidates or an invalid write-in ballot.)

6th Council district: 212 provisional ballots cast out of 2,234 total ballots cast (9.49%).
8th Council district: 226 provisional ballots cast out of 4,040 total ballots cast (5.55%).
2nd Council district: 343 provisional ballots cast out of 4,620 total ballots cast (7.42%).

The 6th district also has the precinct with the largest number of provisional ballots cast in this Council election cycle -- 30 ballots from Precinct 3850138A (Atlantic to MLK Ave, Anaheim to PCH) comprising the McBride Park area where Councilman Andrews has his 6th district field office. (The next highest was Precinct 3850211A with 27 provisional ballots cast in the 2nd Council dist between Broadway, 4th St., Molino to Orizaba/Freeman.)

Andrews was first elected in a May 2007 "winner-take-all" special election (required after Councilwoman Laura Richardson sought and won a LB-Caarson area Assembly seat) in which Andrews received 27.25% of the vote in a multi-candidate field.

Amnesia file: the second place finisher in the May 2007 6th district special election was Al Austin (with 24.30%), who was backed by organized labor and, among others, then-Mayor Bob Foster. The difference between Andrews and Austin in the May 1, 2007 election was 74 votes out of 2,506 counted. Austin went on to run and win election in the 8th Council district in April 2012; four years later in the April 12, 2016 election, Austin avoided a runoff with 50.97% of ballots cast against two challengers.