Registrar hopes to finish Costa Mesa count by Nov. 14; Righeimer holds onto No. 2 spot by 112 votes
On a sunny Thursday morning, after two anxious days of awaiting election results for his Costa Mesa City Council bid, Jay Humphrey stood at the front counter of the county registrar office in Santa Ana.
Registrar Neal Kelley told the inquisitive former councilman about the recount process, a scenario that either Humphrey or his competitor, Mayor Jim Righeimer, could initiate later this month if votes continue to trickle in as closely as they have since Tuesday.
Righeimer and Humphrey have been locked in a tight race for the second open spot on Costa Mesa’s five-member council. Righeimer, first elected in 2010, had a thin lead over Humphrey of 18 votes as of Wednesday evening. At the end of Election Day, the margin was 21.
On Thursday evening, Righeimer’s lead jumped to 112 votes, with Righeimer at 5,851 and Humphrey at 5,739.
Kelley said in a follow-up interview that his office hopes to certify all the county’s general election votes by Nov. 14.
After that time, candidates have up to five days to request a recount, which can be done on a citywide basis or even down to an individual precinct. Recounts are paid for by the requesting candidates.
Kelley estimated that a citywide recount for Costa Mesa would cost between $6,000 and $8,000 and take five days, though possibly fewer, depending on how many people are assigned to the task. Candidates are permitted to have observers watch the process.
As of Thursday morning, an estimated 106,513 ballots remained uncounted throughout the county. It is unclear how many of those were cast in Costa Mesa.
The registrar’s office will update its election results at 5 p.m. each weekday until certification.
In 2012, the last council election, candidate John Stephens was closely behind Councilman Gary Monahan, who ended up winning the third open seat by 155 votes, or 0.1% of the vote.
Though the race was close, Stephens opted not to ask for a recount and conceded the race 10 days after Election Day, before the results were certified.
