A candidate for Marin County’s District 5 seat on the Board of Supervisors has requested a recount of ballots from the June 2 election, questioning whether the winner received the required 50% of the vote.
Andy Podshadley submitted the request to the county registrar on Monday, which falls within the five-day time limit of Friday’s election certification of results.
Novato School Board President Magali Limeta was declared the District 5 winner with 8,539 votes, or 50.3%. The city of Novato is centered in District 5 in eastern Marin County. Podshadley, a Novato businessman, finished second with 2,999 votes, trailing Limeta by about 32 percentage points.
In a letter to Natalie Adona, Marin County registrar of voters, Podshadley requested a hand count of paper ballots.
In a statement, Podshadley said he is asking for an explanation of a discrepancy between the number of voters who cast ballots in the supervisor race and those who voted in the state Senate and Assembly races.
“If her true share of valid votes is below 50 percent, District 5 voters are entitled to a November election where the top two candidates appear on the ballot one more time,” Podshadley said in a statement. “This recount does not seek to change that rule or move the goalposts. Its purpose is to verify which side of the 50 percent line this race actually belongs on and then accept that answer.”
In an email Thursday, Adona said that in a local contest in a primary, the candidate who gets 50% plus one vote wins outright and does not need a November runoff. She said requesters are required to pay for recounts under state election law.
The election office is determining how many staff members it will need for the recount, and an estimated cost will be available by July 10.
