A recount effort regarding the May 23 special election on Ballot Measures B and C has concluded with no change in the certified results. The special election overturned the city’s approval of the proposed Cheval Blanc Beverly Hills Hotel project by a razor-thin margin of 80 and 81 votes.
Beverly Hills resident Sunny Sassoon filed a request for a manual recount of the 7,128 ballots counted in the election. That process, as well as a material review of some 170 rejected ballots, took place at the office of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (LARRCC) on June 13 and 14.
The recount was carried out by LARRCC staff, with observers from each side present. Sassoon canceled the recount on June 14, noting, among other factors, costs (borne by him) of approximately $27,000 for the two days of review and other “substantial hurdles.”
A statement to the Courier from Dean Logan, the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk for LA County, indicated: “On Wednesday, June 14, our office concluded the recount activities from the May 23 City of Beverly Hills Special Municipal Election based on the direction of the voter who made the request. The recount process is a crucial component to our governance as it enables transparency and ensures accuracy and integrity. I’m pleased to relay that this recount process solidified the accuracy of the original certified results.”
During the recount process, there was, in fact, one additional vote identified in the Measure B contest.
However, the LARRCC has no ability to amend the official certified results if only a portion of the ballots have been recounted and/or when the outcome of the ballot measure contests remains the same, pursuant to Elections Code section 15632.
