If you thought that proponents of the measure to extend public transit through downtown San Jose at taxpayer expense were surprised to hear that, days after the election, they were winning, imagine how opponents of the measure felt. Now, we know. Opponents have filed a lawsuit to block certification of the election results; they have demanded a recount.
It’s not surprising to hear that there is a demand for a recount. The margin of victory is so slim that, according to David Schonbrunn, a transit activist opposed to the bill, “All we have to do is find one invalid vote per precinct that got counted as a yes and the measure goes down.” said David Schonbrunn, president of the nonprofit transportation fund.
Clearly, proponents of the bill disagree, claiming that the lawsuit is a waste of taxpayer resources.
Lawyers for both sides will be in court on Monday to make their respective arguments.
Election Day was last week, right?
Yet, a week and a half later, we’re still waiting for outcomes in at least two Senate races. And in the “anything can happen” category, voters in San Jose still don’t know the outcome of the vote to increase sales tax to increase regional transit to the city.
Votes are still being counted for the proposal to increase the sales tax by one-eighth-cent to bring Bay Area Regional Transit (BART) to San Jose. The increase would be in place for 30 years but would not be collected until an agreement for additional funding is reached with the federal government, thought to be a few years out.
Proponents of the measure had given up hope, but now with more than 600,000 votes counted, the measure has the exact number of votes that it needs to pass – for now. There are still nearly 10,000 votes to go… an overwhelming majority of those need to be “yes” votes for the measure to pass. Expect those votes to be tallied any day now. Votes must be counted and certified by Dec 2.
The turnabout is rather overwhelming. A week ago, with 164,000 ballots remaining, opponents of the measure claimed victory. However, most of the uncounted ballots, which were absentee and provisional ballots, were “yes” votes, changing the picture completely.
The late “yes” votes are thought to represent younger voters who tend to be in favor of increasing mass transit. Absentee ballots and provisional ballots are not uncommon among younger voters, who may be in college or graduate school.
If the trend continues, the measure may pass after all, capping off a wild election season. It just goes to show that it ain’t over till it’s over…
