Butt requests recount for council seat

Andrew Butt, who lost the city election name pull tie-breaker, has requested a recount.

County Supervisor John Gioia announced the recount on Twitter, stating, "Losing Candidates Request Recount in Richmond and Antioch Council Elections. The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors has been notified that Andrew Butt in Richmond and Joy Motts in Antioch have requested recounts in their council races," Gioia said.

Following the Nov 8 election, Butt and Zepeda were tied with 1921 votes each. An internal audit initiated by Contra Costa Elections verified the result, and the race was certified on December 2. “Our office conducted expanded manual tally audits for these two close races, which were attended by the affected candidates and media representatives. These audits were conducted beyond state requirements, at the County Elections Division’s expense. Our staff has done an excellent job, and I am confident in their work. These requests are within the rules for recounts,” said Debi Cooper, Clerk-Recorder-Registrar.

According to a press release from Contra Costa Elections issued this afternoon, "The County Clerk-Recorder-Elections Department has received two recount requests for races in the November 8, 2022, General Election. One request is for the Antioch District 1 City Council race in which Tamisha Torres-Walker won over Joy Motts by three votes, and the second is for the Richmond District 2 City Council race, which ended in a tie between Andrew Butt and Cesar Zepeda."

In accordance with state law, the recount requester must cover the recount's costs. The cost is determined based on the steps involved in the recount, including sorting the physical paper ballots.

"Our office is preparing estimated costs for the requestors based on the type of recount that has been requested.” Once the costs are provided to the requester, the recount will begin after payment for the first day’s processing is received," Contra Costa Elections said.

Conducting parallel recounts across two districts may save on shared costs but will take longer than a single-jurisdiction process.

The recount must begin within 7 days of the official request, and California law requires that costs paid by the requester be refunded if the recount changes the election outcome in the requester's favor. If the outcome does not change, the requester may be eligible for a refund if the amount paid exceeds the recount's actual cost. If the recount is conducted using the original paper ballots, it is expected to take 6-7 days.

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