April 21, 2006

Clerk to probe L.B. ballot problems

"Did everyone who requested an absentee ballot receive it in the mail?

Why were registered voters' names left off the list at their polling places?

Why were so many provisional ballots cast during the April 11 municipal elections?

The questions came fast and furious Monday for City Clerk Larry Herrera during a session with several office seekers and election consultants anxious to know their political futures.

A week after voters went to the polls in a citywide election to pick a new mayor, five council members, city auditor and attorney and a slew of school board members, some of the race's outcomes remain unknown as authorities work to verify more than 6,000 provisional and absentee ballots.

Those votes which are set to be counted beginning at 3 p.m. Friday at City Hall could determine the outcomes in the City Council District 3, 5 and 9 races as well as the Long Beach Unified School District's District 1 race.

"I know people are frustrated, but we have to give it a little more time," Herrera said. The city is working this week to verify the validity of 6,202 absentee and provisional ballots received citywide April 11 that remain sealed as workers prepare to examine them for proper signatures, addresses and registration.

One of the biggest questions is why so many provisional ballots were cast. The city collected about 2,200 April 11, compared with the average 500 or so received during a typical municipal election, Herrera said."

The article is here.

Posted by Randy Riddle at April 21, 2006 03:41 PM