Look at it this way...at least it wasn't a tax bill
Cautionary quote of note:
Daniels-Meade cautioned against concluding that the new results were correct. "This has happened before in almost every election, in some race in some level," she said. She also said that Proposition 72 was not even among the closest races the secretary of state's office was tracking.
Surprise Shift in Prop. 72 Vote Tally
Late ballots appear to make measure requiring health insurance coverage a winner. But a clerical error may be responsible, officials say.
By Jordan Rau and Tim Reiterman
Times Staff Writers
December 1, 2004
SACRAMENTO — The fate of a statewide proposition mandating health insurance coverage — assumed to have been defeated in the Nov. 2 election — was thrown into confusion Tuesday night after the secretary of state's office reported that late-counted ballots had given Proposition 72 a narrow margin of victory.
But state elections officials, who had posted the results on the secretary of state's website after the close of business Tuesday, removed them a few hours later, fearing that a clerical error was responsible for the surprising turnaround.
Officials said they would verify the information today.
"We had updates from 17 different counties today, but we are suspicious that one did not report something right," said Caren Daniels-Meade, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Kevin Shelley.
"So we have to get in touch with them all tomorrow."
If the late results prove accurate, however, it would make for one of the most remarkable come-from-behind victories in California's election history.
Proposition 72, which would require all employers with 50 or more workers to provide health insurance, was the subject of one of the most intense battles in this year's election. It pitted doctors, unions and consumer advocates against California's business sectors.
