December 21, 2022
By KAREN VELIE
The Paso Robles lady who requested a recount and inspection of ballots obtained within the District 2 San Luis Obispo County supervisorial race is contemplating litigation due to attainable overcharging and alleged obstructive steps Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano has taken, Darcia Stebbens stated.
Supervisor Bruce Gibson defeated challenger Dr. Bruce Jones by simply 13 votes within the November election, prompting Stebbens to request the recount. For the reason that clerk’s workers started inspecting ballots on Monday, Stebbens has requested workers to tally two beforehand uncounted ballots.
Through the recount course of, observer Richard Patton found a poll that had been mailed in time however rejected by county workers. In ordered to be counted, ballots should be postmarked by Nov. 8, election day.
Nonetheless, county workers rejected the poll with a Nov. 8 postmark as a result of it additionally had a Nov. 9 postmark. The poll had taken the everyday route for SLO County mail. It was dropped in a field in Paso Robles on Nov. 8, despatched to a publish workplace in Santa Barbara County the place it obtained a second stamp, after which delivered to the county constructing in SLO.
SLO County Clerk Recorder Elaina Cano
Cano’s workplace agreed to rely that poll whereas refusing to approve one other uncounted poll.
The second contested poll was despatched from a voter who couldn’t signal her identify as she had up to now, as a result of she might now not maintain a pen appropriately. The lady had a witness affirm her signature. Nonetheless, election workers rejected the poll as a result of the lady’s signature didn’t match the one on file on the county.
Along with points with ballots, Stebbens believes Cano is “sluggish rolling” her data requests and harming her skill to acquire public details about the preliminary rely.
Stebbens can be involved that Cano is overcharging her. Cano is requiring Stebbens to pay $1,009 a day for her wage and advantages, based mostly on Cano spending eight hours every day engaged on the recount. Nonetheless, Stebbens says she will present examples, together with through the main, of Cano attending to different duties whereas additionally charging Stebbens.
Through the main, Cano charged Stebbens roughly $56,000 for the recount of District 4, with 20,899 ballots, at a price of $2.68 a poll.
For the present District 2 recount, Cano has bumped the estimated value of counting 23,431 ballots to $80,262, at a price of $3.43 a poll, or 27% greater than 4 months earlier.
In Kings County, elections workers is at the moment conducting a recount of the 27,125 ballots forged within the District 16 California Senate race, at an estimated value of $62,743, in keeping with Kings County election workers. At a price of $2.31 a poll, Kings County is charging 48% much less per poll than SLO County to carry out a recount.
Stebbens is discussing learn how to transfer ahead with a Sacramento-based lawyer.
