Recount Called for Razor-Thin Board of Supervisors Election

Former state Sen. Lou Correa tonight requested a recount of his 43-vote loss to Andrew Do in the Orange County Board of Supervisors special election, Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said.

Before Correa made his request, Do said he was unconcerned about a recount overturning the results of Tuesday’s special election for the board’s First District seat.

“It makes no difference... County counsel will be there to defend the Registrar of Voters’ certification” of the results, Do said.

“Until there’s a legal reason I should not, then I will be a supervisor,” Do said. “There’s nothing to prohibit me legally from taking office and being sworn in.”

Do doubted Correa’s chances of overturning the results, particularly because most of the ballots were recorded digitally and leave little room for error.

“Legally, many of the bases that used to invalidate ballots in the past when they were still punching holes into ballots and all of that, many of these have been ameliorated so now I think the legal basis for disqualifying ballots has been somewhat restricted,” Do said.

Do will be sworn in Tuesday by Janet Nguyen, whose election to the state Senate triggered the need for a special election.

Do was Nguyen’s chief of staff.

Do said he was “excited, grateful to the voters for their belief in me.”

Nguyen also faced a recount when she won a special election to the Board of Supervisors in 2007. She led by seven votes when the election was certified, a margin reduced to three after a recount, Do noted. That recount prompted state laws to be changed to make it harder to disqualify votes, Do said.

• City News Service