CA-04: This Election Is Not Over

I would really like to get to the post-mortem and the ritual hacking of limbs to answer for the disconnect between a resounding victory at the top of the ticket and barely a ripple below it, but that would be assuming that the votes are all in. And they have not. There are maybe 3 MILLION ballots, in the form of late absentees and provisionals, still outstanding throughout the state. Now, this may not swing any of the statewide numbers with the exception of Prop. 11, but there are plenty of local races close enough that we have to make sure every vote is properly and accurately counted.

In particular, there's the closest race of the night, the battle between Charlie Brown and Tom McClintock in CA-04. Right now, the lead for McClintock on the Secretary of State's website is 451 votes. I'm told that lead is smaller, inside 400 votes. And furthermore, there are FORTY THOUSAND VOTES yet to be counted. These are the late-arriving permanent absentee votes, the ones that people bring to the polls on Election Day, which are always the last to be counted. There are also provisional ballots out there.

This race is not over. 40,000 votes must be counted and they must be counted fairly. Nobody should concede this race, least of all us. Here's a historical reminder - in 2002 Steve Westly was behind in his State Controller race by 10,000 votes once all the precincts returned. But provisional ballots broke for him 60-40, and he was elected.

His opponent that year was Tom McClintock.

Charlie Brown can win this race, but he needs your help. Hiring lawyers to ensure accurate counting is expensive. Maintaining a staff beyond Election Day is expensive. Going through to a recount, which is probable, is expensive.

If neither candidate emerges with a lead exceeding 1/2 of 1 percent of the vote, the race will automatically go to a partial manual recount, according to the secretary of state's office. That was the outcome the Brown campaign anticipated as the upset Brown aimed for still seemed in reach.

Charlie Brown is still in this race. You can support him at the Calitics ActBlue page.