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Given the still-narrow margin in the District 5 county supervisor recall race, both sides may have taken to contacting voters whose ballots were challenged in a last-ditch effort to shift the final outcome.
According to San Benito County elections, representatives of both campaigns purchased voter information for challenged District 5 ballots, suggesting they intended to call the voters who had already cast ballots in the race to encourage them to “cure” or fix their ballots.
According to county elections’ most recent tally, released on June 12, the effort to recall Supervisor Ignacio Velazquez is ahead by 36 votes, but there are still enough ballots to change the outcome, according to the elections office.
Chief Deputy Clerk-Recorder Ana De Castro Maquiz told BenitoLink there are 47 ballots from District 5 that remain challenged and uncounted as of June 12 because they are either missing a signature or the signature doesn’t match what appears in the voter’s file.
De Castro Maquiz said the recall, if successful, is believed to be the first in San Benito County’s history.
She said out of the 47 challenged District 5 ballots, 38 don’t have a matching signature and nine lack a signature entirely.
As of June 12, a total of 243 ballots cast countywide were challenged.
De Castro Maquiz said the elections office contacted voters whose ballots were challenged in at least two ways, including by mail, email and phone calls.
The mail notices sent to voters include a signature verification form to be returned to the elections. Voters can also fix their ballot in person at the elections office.
De Castro Maquiz said the deadline to fix ballots is June 24 at 5 p.m.
Asked if the elections office would conduct an automatic recount for the District 5 recall race given the close results so far, De Castro Maquiz said the office lacks the budget to do so.
However, she said a recount can be requested by either campaign in writing, provided it is paid for by those requesting it. She said the cost of a potential recount is not known, owing to several factors including the number of staff available and whether the recount is done via machine or by hand count.
The last recount conducted in the county was in 2022 for the Hollister City Council District 2 race which cost $14,600. The difference between the original count and the manual count was one additional vote for a candidate. That race was won by Councilmember Rolan Resendiz, who beat out challengers Celeste Toledo-Bocanegra, Hani Mayzouni and Sergio Montanez.
De Castro Maquiz said a recount can only be requested after the elections office certifies the results, which it must do by July 2. Any request has to be made within five calendar days of certification, she said.
Any recount would need to be conducted “within reasonable time,” she said and noted that the 2022 recount took between five and seven days.
If the recall is successful, De Castro Maquiz said Velazquez would be required to vacate his office immediately after the election is certified. She said the San Benito County Board of Supervisors could call for a special election to fill the seat for the remaining two years of the term or have the governor appoint someone.
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