Calif. Highway Bonds Lose by 355 Votes Out of 5 Million : Governor Undecided on Recount

Proposition 74, the $1-billion highway bond issue sponsored by Gov. George Deukmejian, was defeated by a margin of about 355 votes out of a total of 5.28 million ballots, Secretary of State March Fong Eu said today.

The vote tallies from the June 7 primary are still not final and official because returns are not in from one precinct with 298 voters. But there are no longer enough uncounted ballots out to change the outcome of the Proposition 74 election or any other race, she said.

The governor’s office said it has not decided whether to demand a recount.

The highway bond was the only issue that remained in doubt after the semiofficial vote count immediately after the primary. Proposition 74 trailed by about 2,800 votes at the conclusion of the semiofficial canvass.

Ballots Lost

Eu said the official certification of the primary vote, which was scheduled Tuesday, was delayed until July 18 because ballots from one precinct in Pomona were lost.

She said that her office, the Los Angeles County district attorney and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department all have investigated the disappearance of the ballots and that all concluded there was no evidence of fraud or criminal activity.

However, to “avoid disenfranchising the voters in the Pomona precinct,” new ballots are being mailed today to the 298 voters in the precinct. Those ballots are due back by July 15, and the final, official statewide returns will be certified July 18, Eu said.

“Recasting of these ballots will not affect the outcome of any race. Despite the narrow margin in the case of Proposition 74, there are not enough votes in the precinct to make a difference,” Eu said.