Democrat Steve Padilla has suspended a recount request after losing the race for a seat on the Chula Vista City Council by two votes.
Padilla suspended the recount Thursday at 8:19 a.m., according to San Diego County Registrar of Voters Michael Vu. Any member of the public now has 24 hours to ask for a recount. If no one does, on Friday at 8:19 a.m. the results will be final.
John McCann defeated Padilla by 18,448 to 18,446 votes.
Earlier this month, the Democratic Party requested a recount on behalf of Padilla. On Monday, Padilla’s camp asked the registrar to stop the recount and focus on inspecting more than 200 unopened ballots that were previously disqualified.
Vu did not confirm what prompted Padilla to officially suspend the recount Thursday. The Democratic Party has already sunk $58,000 into the recount, not including attorney fees.
Padilla issued the following statement Thursday:
"After a week of counting ballots, it has become clear that many valid ballots are not being counted and this recount is unlikely to change the result.
"In the most common case, registered Chula Vista voters cast ballots on Election Day, but in listing a mailing address on their voting materials, had their votes thrown out. The Registrar’s decision to throw out these valid votes and silence these voters’ voices is wrong.
"I remain more committed than ever to counting every vote. In the coming days my team and I will be looking at options beyond a recount to ensure Chula Vista voters’ voices are heard.
"I remain extremely grateful to the thousands of voters who gave their support to me in this election and to the many staff and volunteers who worked so hard."
