A San Luis Obispo County resident who requested a recount of the District 2 Supervisor race in the November General Election spoke at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday.
Darcia Stebbens filed the recount request on Monday.
"I just spoke with someone yesterday that said her vote did not count because she had surgery and her signature did not match," Stebbens claimed.
Incumbent Supervisor Bruce Gibson won the District 2 race by just 13 votes over challenger Dr. Bruce Jones.
Stebbens' request calls for a manual and visual inspection of "relevant" election material, including mail-in ballots returned without an envelope, ballots postmarked after the cutoff dates, and those with missing, or non-matching signatures.
It is the second recount Stebbens has requested this year. In July, she asked for a recount of the District 4 Supervisor race in the June Primary Election. That recount did not change the results of the race.
"I think if some of you have seen what I have seen in the prior recount, you would also agree that we need many changes to our system currently in process," Stebbens said.
Gibson, meanwhile, says he does not expect the results to change.
"We have seen the outstanding work that our election staff do. They are very careful in the handling of the ballots, so I believe that this lead, though somewhat slender, will hold up," Gibson told KSBY.
The official recount of ballots in the District 2 Supervisor race is set to take place next week, and according to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder, Elaina Cano, the requestor is responsible for covering the costs of the recount process.
We reached out to the campaign team for Dr. Bruce Jones, but they declined to comment on the situation.
Board declares election results
The Board of Supervisors voted to declare the results of the November General Election during Tuesday's meeting.
County Counsel Rita Neal told supervisors that doing so would have no effect on the recount and that the board is required to declare the election results after the clerk-recorder certifies them or face potential legal action from the Secretary of State's Office.
The election results were certified on December 7.
The vote was 4-1 with District 5 Supervisor Debbie Arnold voting "no." She expressed concerns over the recount and the processing of ballots.
Supervisor Compton's last board meeting
Tuesday's Board of Supervisors meeting also marked Lynn Compton's last meeting as District 4 Supervisor. She was elected to the seat in 2014.
During public comment, representatives from the Oceano Community Services District recognized Compton with a resolution thanking her for her years representing Oceano on the board. They also made a donation to San Luis Obispo County Animal Services in her name.
All of the other supervisors on the board also made comments wishing Compton the best in her future endeavors.
Compton was unseated by Jimmy Paulding in the June Primary Election.
