Assemblymember Evan Low has won a contentious and highly-politicized recount in Silicon Valley’s open congressional race, beating Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian for second place by five votes. Of the 16 challenged ballots in San Mateo County’s portion of the recount, election officials accepted seven and rejected nine. Low picked up one vote and...
Silicon Valley congressional recount closing in on final tally
The recount to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo’s congressional seat is coming to a close, but it will still be days before results are finalized. Santa Clara County, which represents 80% of Congressional District 16, is almost done rescanning all of its ballots. San Mateo County completed its rescanning on Wednesday. Still, dozens of challenged ballots...
Robinson: Liccardo’s allies aren’t doing him any favors
The Congressional District 16 recount being tawdrily funded by an independent expenditure close to candidate Sam Liccardo is a huge mistake. The genesis is apparently a poll that showed Liccardo would benefit from a two-person race. As the survey hasn’t been released, we don’t know what those results show. But apparently it was concerning enough...
Silicon Valley congressional recount can’t be refunded
A week after an expensive and highly-criticized recount of ballots began in a tied congressional race, the California Secretary of State says the requester will not get his money back. Santa Clara and San Mateo counties jointly sought guidance from the state about whether the recount requester, Jonathan Padilla, would get reimbursed if the Congressional...
San José Spotlight honored for championing freedom of information
San José Spotlight won a prestigious James Madison Award this month at a gala hosted by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Northern California chapter, an honor that celebrates champions of transparency and accountability. The annual awards, now in their 39th year, highlight individuals and organizations working to preserve and advance freedom of information in Northern...
Silicon Valley Congressional District 16 re-examines uncounted ballots
Several uncounted ballots are undergoing additional review as part of the Silicon Valley congressional race recount. Jonathan Padilla, the requestor behind the recount for California’s Congressional District 16 race to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo, said 20 ballots have been “improperly excluded from the count.” Padilla’s request comes after Assemblymember Evan Low and Joe Simitian tied...
Federal complaint filed against San Jose congressional candidate Sam Liccardo
Silicon Valley congressional candidate Sam Liccardo is facing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging his campaign is coordinating a “dark money” effort to fund a highly-criticized recount in the Congressional District 16 race. Max Zarzana, a 25-year prosecutor and president of the Santa Clara County Government Attorneys Association, filed a complaint with the...
Super PAC pays for Silicon Valley congressional recount
A new political action committee was formed to pay for a recount of the contentious Congressional District 16 race, further obscuring who is actually funding the effort. The Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters has been receiving checks from Count the Vote, an independent expenditure committee, or super PAC, to help fund the highly scrutinized...
Silicon Valley congressional race recount begins
In a massive warehouse behind the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, election workers are pulling hundreds of boxes from storage to begin the recount for the highly-anticipated race to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo’s Silicon Valley congressional seat. The first day of the Congressional District 16 recount is one of preparation, rather than retabulation. About 30...
Who’s behind recount in Silicon Valley congressional race?
Two men from different counties have pushed for a recount in a highly-scrutinized Silicon Valley congressional race — but Jonathan Padilla, a longtime supporter and ally of leading candidate and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, has already put down the deposit. The recount is expected to begin Monday. Dan Stegink, a former San Mateo...