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COUNTYWIDE : VanderKolk Margin Officially 98 Votes

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The official results of the June 5 election showed political newcomer Maria VanderKolk beating incumbent Supervisor Madge L. Schaefer by 98 votes, four fewer than an earlier unofficial tally.

VanderKolk, who takes office in early January, won 11,834 votes in the 2nd Supervisorial District centered in Thousand Oaks. Schaefer received 11,736 in the biggest political upset in a county race since the 1920s.

Earlier, unofficial results had given VanderKolk a winning edge of 102 votes. Her lead was reduced after election officials counted some errant absentee ballots.

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Some absentee ballots were not counted in the unofficial tally because voters had turned them in to polling places outside the 2nd District, said Ruth Schepler, assistant registrar of voters. The district includes Thousand Oaks, Agoura, Westlake Village and Port Hueneme.

“It’s something that happens when absentee voters find they’ve failed to mail in their ballots on time, and they take them to a polling place outside their district,” Schepler said. “It takes a while to catch up with all of these ballots.”

In the 4th Supervisorial District, final returns certified by the County Board of Supervisors gave Simi Valley City Councilwoman Vicky Howard 8,577 votes and fellow council member Bill Davis 5,464 votes. They will face each other in a runoff Nov. 6.

Schepler said absentee ballots accounted for 18% of the votes cast in the election, a record for a June primary.

A total of 119,128, or 39.9%, of the county’s 298,724 registered voters either went to the polls or sent in absentee ballots, Schepler said. Richard Dean, the county clerk, had predicted a 40% turnout in the primary election.

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