Hollister
– The election is really, really over, county registrar John
Hodges told the Free Lance on Friday.
Hollister – The election is really, really over, county registrar John Hodges told the Free Lance on Friday.
Hodges said his office investigated a complaint from District 4 supervisor candidate Tracie Cone and found no problems or discrepancies.
Voter Alan Swain approached Cone’s campaign in late November with concerns about an electronic voting machine. Swain said that when he tried to vote at the Ridgemark polling station, the machine would not allow him to choose Cone or state Assembly candidate Anna Caballero. He could, however, select their opponents. Swain said he was only able to cast his vote for Cone after he shook the voting machine vigorously.
“Had Mr. Swain had the problems that he talked about, the poll workers would have known about it,” Hodges said. “And none of them did.”
Hodges has previously said the county held “a flawless election, basically.”
The election results were certified on Tuesday by the County Board of Supervisors. Cone, the former publisher of the Pinnacle newspaper, lost to incumbent Reb Monaco by 60 votes, 49.22 percent to 50.78 percent. According to District Attorney John Sarsfield, aggrieved candidates have 30 days after certification to file a lawsuit.
Cone and her attorney, John Picone, have expressed concerns that other voters encountered the same problem as Swain and, lacking his persistence, were dissuaded from voting in the race.
However, Hodges said his office had examined the machines and been unable to find any errors. Picone also asked Hodges for the Ridgemark polling station’s results. These results could, Picone said, provide support for concerns that glitches prevented voters from casting ballots in the supervisor’s race.
When asked by the Free Lance about whether Cone is interested in pursuing the matter further, Picone said, “I can’t really say.”
Sarsfield has said the county’s grand jury will also be investigating the election – both the District 4 race and the placement of school board candidate Ardyss Golden on the ballot. Golden was disqualified from the board race because she does not live in the district, but she received 1,820 votes nonetheless, enough to potentially change the outcome of the election.
But Hodges said he has yet to hear anything from the grand jury, and as far as he’s concerned, the election is over.
“Everyone did an excellent job,” he said. “We had over 150 people involved in putting the election together, and we had no problems to speak of.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at (831) 637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
