The Registrar of Voters said in an email sent Thursday they received a “formal request” for a re-count for the Chula Vista City Council race between winner John McCann and Steve Padilla.
That requestor is Southwestern College Governing Board Member Humberto Peraza, who said he made the request on Thursday on behalf of the Democratic party.
“This is about making sure that Chula Vista gets the votes re-counted to ensure that the person that actually got elected, whether it’s by one vote, or two votes or 50 votes, that the right person is elected.”
McCann was declared the winner Tuesday after the Registrar of Voters certified the election.
McCann won by two votes: 18,448 to 18,446.
The Registrar of Voters’ Michael Vu previously said the cost for a recount varies but can cost an upwards of $40,000.
Peraza, a member of the Democratic Party, said the party will foot the bill.
Peraza also said the request for a recount has nothing to do with the speculation of him making himself a candidate for an appointment on the City Council.
“This is about doing the right thing for the community and making sure the votes are all counted.”
Padilla said the request came as somewhat of a surprise because he too was exploring the option on requesting a recount.
“Like I said all along, it’s very important that every vote is accounted for and that every vote is counted,” he said.
“And to that end I’m very pleased to see that moving forward.
Padilla said he was not aware that Peraza was going to make a request.
McCann said he is ready for a re-count.
“We know that every vote has been counted and we welcome a re-count,” he said. “We know that if every vote is recounted we know the result will be the same with us being council member.”
The Registrar of Voters has seven days from the time a request was made to conduct a re-count.
