Outstanding ballots could affect tight races around Southern California
There are still some closely contested election races that are too close for comfort. Adding to that, there are still a lot of ballots to count, which means this is going to be an anxious weekend for some. The Times' Joanna Lin has the numbers of uncounted provisional ballots:
- L.A. County 225,000 to 250,000
- Orange County 60,450
- Riverside County 47,000
The Times' Steve Hymon says the transportation-tax race is tightening:
The lead became thinner for the transportation sales-tax hike known as Measure R, as the Los Angeles County registrar Friday resumed counting ballots. Measure R needed two-thirds approval, and Friday's tally brought yes votes down from 67.4% to 67.2%. There are still about 450,000 late-arriving absentee and provisional ballots to be counted, with the registrar scheduled to resume tallying Tuesday. Campaign officials for Measure R said they expect it will pass because the late absentee votes and provisional ballots tend to favor Measure R more than the early-arriving absentee ballots counted Friday.
Then there is Beverly Hills, where the fate of a luxury hotel is down to a nine vote margin. From City News Service:
The lead by opponents of a Beverly Hills ballot measure to build two condominium buildings and a Waldorf-Astoria hotel on the Beverly Hilton property has shrunk to nine votes, according to updated figures released today. Measure H now trails, 6,793 to 6,784, or 50.03% to 49.97%, after a count of vote by mail and provisional ballots by the Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's office. The no side had a 68-vote lead -- 6,326 to 6,258 -- before today's count. The next updated figures are scheduled to be released Tuesday afternoon. If approved, the measure would allow construction of a 12-story, 170-room Waldorf-Astoria hotel that would be built on the southwest corner of Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards on the site of the now-closed Trader Vic's restaurant; a six- to eight-story building with 26 to 36 condominiums; and a 16-to 18-story building with 64 to 74 condominiums, according to descriptions provided by city officials.
-- Shelby Grad
