Official Recount Following Tie in 16th House Race Between Second Place Candidates

Santa Clara County elections officials announced late on Tuesday that a recount would be initiated for the 16th House District primary election following a shock tie for two candidates in second place being made official last week.

The current tie can be traced back to November when Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) announced that she would not run for reelection in 2024. Candidates from all over Silicon Valley and the Southwestern San Francisco Bay area announced runs within days of her announcement.  Former Saratoga City Councilor Rishi Kumar (D), Palo Alto Councilwoman Julie Lythcott-Haims (D), and former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki (R) joined favorites Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) and Santa Clara County Supervisor and former state Senator Joe Simitian (D), with most analysts expecting a Low-Simitian matchup in November. However, the entrance of former San Jose Mayor and current Stanford professor Sam Liccardo in December quickly threw the race into the most open House race in the state.

Liccardo, who had promised not to run if Eshoo was still running, was suddenly the front runner in the race. Even more, Republican candidates, usually being relegated to 3rd or 4th place in primaries in the area, suddenly now had a chance with Liccardo severely fracturing the Democratic vote. Polls in January showed Liccardo in an insurmountable lead, with Simitian and Low, who had expected to face each other in earnest in November, now suddenly having to fight each other in March. Support levels generally stayed the same through February, but with GOP candidates seeing a surprising bump in support thanks to the U.S. Senate primary and the Republican presidential primary bringing out more than usual in the area.

On March 5th, results of the night showed that Liccardo had just about clinched a spot in November, but with Low, Simitian, and Ohtaki being within a few thousand votes of each other. The next day, straggling votes led Liccardo to pick up at least one of the spots, leading to a race of votes to still be counted for the others still in contention. Over the next several weeks, Low and Simitian jockeyed for control of second place, always being within a few dozen votes in the Santa Clara County and San Mateo County district.

Last Wednesday, all votes were finally officially counted. Liccardo came out in first with 38,489 votes, or 21.1% of the vote. However, in an unusual turn of events, both Low and Simitian stood at 30,249, or 16.6%, apiece. The next closest, Ohtaki, wound up with 23,275 votes, or 12.7%.

While both Simitian and Low celebrated the tie, as a three-way race would lead to an easier path of Liccardo being defeated, political experts warned that a recount was likely. In the next several days they were proven right when two petitioners came forward requesting a recount. On Tuesday, they noted that the petition chosen belonged to Jonathan Padilla, a former staffer for Liccardo. Specifically, Padilla requested a manual recount. As petitioners are the ones who have to pay for a recount, Padilla is to pay approximately $32,000 a day over the ten-day period that a recount lasts. With the recount now due to begin on Monday, Padilla has until then to pay the costs upfront for it to begin. Should the costs not be paid on Monday, no recount will happen.

A petition for a recount

“It’s all contingent to whether or not the voter will make a deposit for the recount, the cost of the recount,” said County of Santa Clara Registrar of Voters Associate Communications Officers Michael Borja on Tuesday. “This is a very rare event and we’re still working on it on a day-by-day basis, and doing the proper research.”

All three candidates had different takes on the recount announcement and Wednesday. While the Liccardo campaign did not confirm if Padilla had indeed worked for them at one time and said that they were unaffiliated with the recount request, they noted that the final result needed to be accurate.

“Every vote should be counted, and that’s why recounts are part of the state’s electoral process to ensure accuracy,” said the Liccardo campaign. “We understand why, under these extraordinary circumstances, there would be an effort to make sure these votes are fully considered. “More than 100 ballots were not included in the final tally because of issues like unverified signatures. We understand why there would be an effort to make sure the votes are fully considered.”

Meanwhile, the Low campaign accused the Liccardo campaign comparing their recount tactic to a “Trump tactic,” and said that Liccardo was trying to get an easier race through a recount. They also charged that they got Padilla to make the request as well, as he was a former employee.

“This is a page right out of Trump’s political playbook using dirty tricks to attack democracy and subvert the will of the voters,” said Low Spokeswoman Whitney Larsen. “Sam Liccardo, who does not live in the district, did not file a recount himself. Instead, he had his former staffer do it for him. What’s he afraid of?”

At the same time, Simitian played in neutrally, saying that the recount will work out who is in and not in the race, and that he would instead focus on how to represent people in the district better.

“Eventually, this process will work itself out,” said Simitian. “My job is to stay focused on how I can best represent the folks in our district. And that’s what I’m doing.”

Experts told the Globe on Wednesday that the recount would all but assuredly make it a two person race, with a razor thin margin being formed between Simitian and Low following the recount.

“There’s always a few votes that change up in a recount,” Northern California pollster Paula Gonzalez told the Globe on Wednesday. “We do know that, because of signature problems, some were not counted. So things can change up.”

“What is for sure is that Liccardo does not want a three person race. Facing off against Low or Simitian he can handle. Especially with his huge amount of San Jose area support. But both? His path to victory is much less certain.”

“Low is trying to make it seem like this is a travesty that a recount is even happening, but it makes total sense. It’s a tie vote on the first go around. If the election is close you get votes recounted. Tie elections like this don’t just happen. The odds are way too great. If the tie holds, then it will be like winning the lotto. That’s the kind of odds we are talking here.”

The recount is expected to begin on Monday, contingent to being paid for by the petitioner in full by that time.