Dornan Files Request for Recount of Votes

Rep. Robert K. Dornan, the outspoken conservative Republican who has blamed his 984-vote loss to Democrat Loretta Sanchez on fraud, asked for a recount late Monday afternoon, barely making the deadline to start the process.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Rosalyn Lever said her office probably would begin the process next Monday by providing materials requested by Dornan, including absentee and provisional ballots.

After reviewing those materials, Dornan must decide whether to pursue a full recount.

Also requesting a recount was Lou Correa, the Democratic Assembly candidate who lost to incumbent Jim Morrissey of Santa Ana by 93 votes.

Dornan, who has been uncharacteristically silent in recent days, could not be reached for comment and did not appear at the registrar’s office. Instead, his written request was delivered by a courier who slipped past television news crews and several reporters and left an envelope on the counter.

The deadline for requesting a recount was 5 p.m. Monday.

Lever said a manual recount of the ballots “is not going to change the outcome of [the Dornan-Sanchez] race.” However, both candidates are seeking information that could sustain their claims that the voting process was not fair.

“We’re looking at this for diametrically different reasons,” said Correa of the two requests. Dornan “is looking for people who voted and shouldn’t have. I’m looking for people who didn’t get to vote and should have.”

Since the day he fell behind Sanchez during the count of absentee ballots, Dornan has complained of fraud in the voting process. He initially said large numbers of noncitizens voted, and later claimed that ballot boxes were not properly protected.

Marty Stone, a political consultant who has been observing the vote count and its aftermath for the Democratic Central Campaign Committee, said he talked with Sanchez by phone Monday.

“She doesn’t think he stands a chance, and it’s just sour grapes,” he said of Dornan’s request.

In his three-paragraph request, written on congressional stationery, Dornan asked to look over absentee and provisional ballots that were counted and those that were rejected, and then “proceed from there.”

A full recount can be expensive. Both candidates must pay the registrar’s office at least $358 a day for four staff members, known as a board. If there is a large quantity of work, several boards may be used at the same time, and the cost could multiply.

In addition, the candidates are likely to hire specialists in vote recounts.

“It’s a lot of money,” Correa said. “I’ve heard as high as $20,000 to $50,000. That’s why I was kind of borderline about doing this.”

If an election result is overturned as a result of the recount, the money collected by the registrar’s office would be refunded, Lever said.

Correa predicted that a recount would bring him closer to Morrissey, but fell short of predicting a win. In the 69th District, about 300 provisional ballots were rejected by the registrar’s office for various reasons. Correa said he and volunteers would inspect each of the rejected ballots to be sure the reasons were valid.

If candidates wish to pursue their claims further after exhausting the recount process, the next step would be a court challenge.