San Diego County sues secretary of state re: recount procedures

[OregonBlue]

The county of San Diego sued California Secretary of State Debra Bowen on Friday, alleging that Bowen overstepped her authority in requiring new recount procedures in close races beginning in February.

Nicole Winger, a spokeswoman for Bowen, said California law "clearly" gave Bowen the authority to require elections officials to conduct hand recounts of 10 percent of precincts -- to determine if those counts matched electronically scanned results -- when races were close at the end of voting.

San Diego County Registrar of Voters Deborah Seiler said there is already a law, created by the state Legislature, requiring counties to conduct a 1 percent hand count of randomly selected precincts. Seiler said that requiring the 10 percent hand counts in races at the end of voting -- when only 80 percent of cast votes had been received -- would create extra work and delays.

Seiler and county Deputy Counsel Tim Barry said Friday that the extra work could threaten counties' ability to complete counts and election results in the "canvass" period. The canvass period is the legally allowed 28-day period in which election officials have to ensure the accuracy of the voting results. During the canvass, absentee and provisional ballots that are not counted on election night are researched to validate their eligibility. The canvass ends with the certification and issuance of official election results.

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/12/19/news/top_stories/1_04_1412_18_07.txt