MARIN COUNTY, CA — The Marin County Elections Department will conduct a hand recount of votes cast in the District 5 Board of Supervisors race after candidate Andy Podshadley requested one following the certification of the June primary election.
When Marin County certified the election Friday, Magali Limeta had received 8,539 votes, or 50.27 percent — just enough to win outright under California law. Podshadley finished second with 17.66 percent of the vote, followed by Curtis G. Aikens, Chris Carpiniello and Marc Hunter Lewis.
The recount will determine whether the final vote count changes enough to force a November runoff in the race to represent most of Novato and northern Marin on the Board of Supervisors.
The District 5 contest was one of Marin County's most closely watched local races this year. Five candidates sought to replace outgoing Supervisor Eric Lucan, who did not seek reelection after advancing to the November California State Assembly election.
During election night and the weeks that followed, Limeta's vote share hovered near the 50 percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff. Early returns showed the Novato school board president leading the vote before additional mail ballots steadily increased her margin during the official canvass.
The recount will determine whether Limeta's final total remains above the 50 percent majority required to avoid a runoff. If the recount lowers her vote share below that threshold, the top two finishers would advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
After the results were certified, Limeta called the victory historic and said she was honored to earn voters' trust.
Under California law, any registered voter may request a recount within five calendar days after an election is certified. The request must specify whether the recount will be conducted by hand or machine, and the requester is responsible for covering the cost, which is based on staff time and materials.
County elections officials said the recount's purpose is to determine whether a manual review changes the certified election outcome.
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