State senate race recount has begun

A recount of ballots cast in last week’s special primary for the 35th District state Senate seat could be completed early next week, officials said, but it would be a historic anomaly for Orange County if it changed the election’s outcome.

In the April 11 election, Republican Assemblyman Tom Harman beat GOP opponent and Dana Point City Councilwoman Diane Harkey by 236 votes, becoming his party’s nominee on the June 6 ballot. In the general election, Harman will face Democrat Larry Caballero, who was the only other candidate on last week’s ballot.

The special election was called in December after incumbent Sen. John Campbell was elected to a U.S. House seat. The 35th District represents Costa Mesa, Newport Beach, and all or part of 13 other Orange County cities.

After the 98,344 votes were counted ? including absentee and provisional ballots ? Harman had 38.8% of the votes, and Harkey claimed 38.5%. Acting Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley certified the election results Monday. Harkey asked for a recount Tuesday and election officials began counting the ballots again on Wednesday.

“We’re going to start with the election day voters,” Harkey campaign consultant Scott Hart said, adding that a full hand recount was requested.

It will cost Harkey $2,000 a day to have four teams of election workers counting ballots. Harkey and Harman each will have supporters observing the count.

Harkey wanted a recount because the margin between the candidates was so small, Hart said.

“Because of the support Diane had, she owes it to the people who supported her to make sure all of their votes counted,” Hart added.

Harman said he was surprised by how close the election was, but he’s not worried that the recount will change anything.

“The registrar has repeatedly told me that the machines they use, the scanners that they use, are extremely accurate and he doesn’t expect much of a variance,” he said.

Paper ballots were used in the election because the registrar’s office is working on a required update of its electronic voting machines. Federal standards require the machines that count the paper ballots to have an error rate that doesn’t exceed one in 10 million, Kelly said.

Although recount requests are common in close races, Kelley said, he’s not aware of any recounts in Orange County that have changed the outcome of an election.

But, he said, “I haven’t done all the research back to the 1800s.”