OC Political

Prop 29 went down in defeat in June with 2,592,791 voting against the measure and 2,568,715 voting for the measure (a 50.2%-49.8% margin or 24,076 votes), according to the results certified by the Secretary of State on July 13.

Four days before certification, on July 9, Dr. John Maa (D-San Francisco) filed a request for a partial recount of the results.  Maa is being represented in the recount by attorney Brad Hertz (R-Woodland Hills) of the Sutton Law Firm.  Maa indicated he would spend up to $250,000 to pay for the recount (remember, under California law, anyone requesting a recount must pay for it; a refund will occur only if they succeed in overturning the election results).

On July 16, the partial recount commenced in Los Angeles County.  The recounting continued until August 11, at which point Maa’s recount added 464 “Yes” votes and 246 “No” votes, a net gain of 218 votes for the “Yes” side.

On August 6, the recount commenced in Placer County, but with Steven L. Heilig (G-San Francisco) rather than Ma as the person requesting the recount.  The recounting continued until August 13, at which point Heilig’s recount subtracted 10 “Yes” votes and 18 “No” votes, a net gain of 8 votes for the “Yes” side.

The recount is now rolling into Orange County, with the Registrar of Voters announcing the recount will commence on Wednesday, September 5.

Although the No on 29 side is gaining votes in the recount, it seems unlikely that they’ll achieve enough to overturn 24,076 considering they’ve only netted 226 votes so far.

If Maa sounds familiar, he was in a “Yes on 29” commercial:

Since we’re showing Prop 29 commercials, click here to see Orange County’s own Dr. Ken Williams (R-Villa Park) in a No on 29 commercial.