Uncounted Absentees Still Total 43,000 Votes

A few San Diego County races remained so close Wednesday that there is a long-shot possibility that the counting of absentee ballots could change the results. And the absentee results won’t be known with certainty until next week.

According to the registrar of voters, there are about 43,000 absentee ballots countywide left to be counted. What isn’t known is the breakdown of those absentee ballots--how many come from the city of San Diego or a specific legislative district.

For example, Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego) is 982 votes behind Randall (Duke) Cunningham in the 44th Congressional District and theoretically could still come out a winner, though both of them admit such a turnaround is unlikely.

Others in similar situations are Mike Gotch and Assemblyman Jeff Marston (R-San Diego) in the 78th District, followed by Deirdre (Dede) Alpert and Assemblywoman Sunny Mojonnier (R-Encinitas) in the 75th District.

Marston finds himself 1,858 votes behind Gotch, while Mojonnier trails Alpert by a margin of 5,821, which makes her prospects particularly dim.

In a San Diego school board contest, John de Beck leads Scott Harvey by 2,455 votes. While De Beck looked forward Wednesday to the new post, he did express caution that absentee balloting could change the result.

Another close race in San Diego is over Proposition C, the measure asking voter approval to sell $100 million in bonds to pay for open space and new parks. Those opposed to the measure lead supporters by 2,004 votes, or 50.43% to 49.10%, with the absentees still to be counted.

The registrar of voters said that, over the next several days, the remaining absentee ballots will be verified and then counted.