{"id":8716894,"date":"2023-01-15T06:00:20","date_gmt":"2023-01-15T14:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8716894&preview=true&preview_id=8716894"},"modified":"2023-01-15T10:41:26","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T18:41:26","slug":"are-alameda-county-elections-actually-headed-to-a-recount","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/15\/are-alameda-county-elections-actually-headed-to-a-recount\/","title":{"rendered":"Are Alameda County elections actually headed to a recount?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The aftermath of the November elections in Alameda County has left voters confused<\/a> about everything from the results of certain races to the future of ranked choice voting to the possibility of a recount.<\/p>\n

Tensions were already high in December after efforts to recount the extremely close Oakland mayoral race went nowhere. The election was certified Dec. 8, and the deadline for a recount came and went a couple of weeks later.<\/p>\n

But when the county registrar of voters revealed just before the new year that the District 4 Oakland Unified school board race should have been won<\/a> by the candidate who finished in third place, it set off a chorus of outrage and questions about the accuracy of ranked choice voting<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Amid the push to figure out what went wrong \u2014 and how it can be fixed \u2014 there\u2019s been spurious speculation. Here\u2019s a look at where things really stand for the county\u2019s elections.<\/p>\n

Q: <\/strong>Is a recount actually going to take place, and if so, which local races would be affected?<\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>It\u2019s true that the Alameda County Board of Supervisors voted this week to request a manual recount of the election outcome in the contested school board race, as well as the Oakland mayoral election and a pair of close races in San Leandro.<\/p>\n

The board\u2019s request calls on Tim Dupuis, the registrar of voters, to bring in \u201ca qualified individual with experience overseeing ranked choice voting\u201d in another county to initiate a hand count of the results.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s all it is\u2014a request. And despite what other media outlets have reported, there is no clear pathway at the moment for a recount to be conducted, despite many calls from the public<\/a> \u2014 including Oakland\u2019s chapter of the NAACP<\/a> \u2014 for one to take place.<\/p>\n

In fact, with the deadline having passed in December, Dupuis suspects the only way for a recount to be allowable under the law would be if a court orders it.<\/p>\n

At the moment, only one race in the county has resulted in actual lawsuits: the school board seat won by Nick Resnick that the county has since determined should be occupied by Mike Hutchinson.<\/p>\n

It is unclear whether a judge\u2019s eventual ruling in that case would have any bearing on the possible recounts of other close elections, such as the mayoral race. But it does not appear to be likely.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a situation that\u2019s not really addressed clearly in the law,\u201d Dupuis said of the school board snafu. \u201cWe\u2019re probably setting new precedent, and so we\u2019ll have to get before a judge and see what the judge does.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"OAKLAND,
OAKLAND, CA \u2013 FEBRUARY 9: Oakland Unified School District board member Mike Hutchinson, who voted against the Oakland school closures, speaks in a press conference at Oakland City Hall in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022. Assemblymember Mia Bonta, other local elected officials and parents delivered their message to the majority of the OUSD Board of Education who voted on the school closures and consolidations.(Ray Chavez\/Bay Area News Group) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q:\u00a0<\/strong>What went wrong with ranked choice voting in the November election?<\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>Oakland, Berkeley, Albany and San Leandro, as well as San Francisco, all use ranked choice voting, or an \u201cinstant runoff\u201d system, to settle their elections.<\/p>\n

Under the format, voters can rank their preferred candidates instead of choosing just one. The lowest vote-getters are eliminated, one by one, and their votes are transferred to their supporters\u2019 next choice until one candidate secures majority support.<\/p>\n

The District 4 Oakland Unified school board mess stemmed from 235 ballots where voters left the first-choice column blank \u2014 or added an ineligible write-in choice \u2014 but filled out their subsequent preferences.<\/p>\n

Instead of simply registering those voters\u2019 designated second choice as their top preferred candidate, the registrar\u2019s office \u201csuspended\u201d those ballots until the next round of ranked choice voting. By that point, Hutchinson, who had the fewest first-place votes, was mistakenly eliminated.<\/p>\n

As it turned out, he had enough support from those suspended votes to qualify for the second round, where vote transfers from losing candidate Pecolia Manigo would have helped him defeat Resnick, the certified winner.<\/p>\n

Oakland\u2019s city charter calls for ballots with a blank column to \u201cimmediately be advanced to the next ranking.\u201d After voting advocacy groups alerted Dupuis to the mix-up, he confirmed on Dec. 28 that Hutchinson should have been elected to the board seat.<\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0<\/strong>So who\u2019s actually going to serve in the Oakland school board seat when the dust settles?<\/p>\n

Hutchinson has publicly declared himself the winner and filed an \u201celection contest\u201d lawsuit with the Alameda County court to reverse the election error.<\/p>\n

Incidentally, Hutchinson is currently the District 5 school board director, and ran for the open board seat only because his home address was redistricted there.<\/p>\n

If his election contest doesn\u2019t work out, he still has two years left in his term. He will also serve as the board\u2019s president<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n

Resnick, meanwhile, was sworn in to the District 4 seat on Monday, and has no plans on giving it up. His attorney filed a cross contest in the court alleging that Dupuis had no right to re-run the ranked choice algorithm on his own without notifying anyone.<\/p>\n

Jim Sutton, Resnick\u2019s attorney, argues that at least some of the voters who selected a second-choice candidate while leaving the first column blank likely did so with purpose.<\/p>\n

He contends that it is unconstitutional to simply slide those votes into the first-choice category, noting a \u201cvagueness\u201d around why that line of the city charter exists at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one can explain to me why the (city charter) contains that provision,\u201d he said. \u201cWhat the constitution says is if there\u2019s an election law, the government needs a reason for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Tim
Tim Dupuis, the registrar of voters for Alameda County. (Alameda County) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q:<\/strong> How long will it take for the election to be corrected?<\/p>\n

Hutchinson and Resnick\u2019s court filings are proper lawsuits, meaning the whole nine yards are still ahead \u2014 a preliminary hearing, depositions of the relevant parties, and possibly a full-blown trial.<\/p>\n

But it is likely the court will expedite the case, with Sutton saying he told his client to expect a two-month process.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, the Oakland school board is full, with Hutchinson and Resnick both occupying seats.<\/p>\n

Q: <\/strong>Is ranked choice voting to blame for this whole mess? Can Alameda County ditch the format going forward?<\/p>\n

A: <\/strong>In every jurisdiction that uses ranked choice voting, it\u2019s the voters who approved it. That is the case in Oakland, where the format has been utilized in the past three mayoral elections.<\/p>\n