Dec 15, 2004
Disallowed San Diego Mayoral Ballots Would Have Elected Write-In
By Elliot Spagat
Associated Press Writer


SAN DIEGO (AP) - A complete review of disqualified ballots in San Diego's mayoral race showed Wednesday that write-in candidate Donna Frye would have ousted Mayor Dick Murphy had those votes been counted.

The final tally showed that 5,547 voters wrote in Frye's name but failed to darken the adjoining bubble - enough votes to eclipse Murphy's 2,108-vote margin of victory in a three-way race.

Frye, a city councilwoman who launched her write-in bid five weeks before the Nov. 2 election, remained undecided on her next move. She has until Jan. 7 - or 30 days from the election's certification - to pursue a legal challenge.

Sally McPherson, San Diego County's registrar of voters, determined that ballots with unfilled bubbles cannot be counted under state election law. A Superior Court judge upheld her position last month in a challenge filed by the League of Women Voters of San Diego.

"Law says that you got to fill in the oval. I don't think our position will change - it will not change," McPherson said Wednesday.

Murphy began his second term last week.

The count of disqualified ballots was sponsored by two Frye voters and several news organizations.

"We have the votes," said Fred Woocher, an attorney representing the Frye voters. "There's no doubt about what the voter intent was. We have ... a substantial enough number of them that there's no room for quibbling around the margins."

Woocher asked for a recount of seven precincts, an exercise that may take until the end of the week. After that, he will ask the registrar to count the disputed ballots and, if his request is denied, he might sue.

Several dozen election workers counted the empty-bubble ballots over two days in a warehouse at the county registrar's office. At each table, an election worker flashed each empty-bubble ballot to volunteers from the Murphy and Frye camps and a news organization.

Kelly Murphy, the mayor's daughter and a volunteer observer, reiterated her father's position that the empty-bubble ballots shouldn't count.

"The law's the law," she said. "The law is there to avoid the chaos that can happen. There's got to be lines drawn."

The mayoral race was nonpartisan, but Murphy and candidate Ron Roberts are Republicans and Frye is a Democrat.

AP-ES-12-15-04 2105EST

This story can be found at: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB35JLAS2E.html

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10News.com
Invalid Ballots Would Have Elected Donna Frye
Tally Determines How Many Votes Frye Lost Because Of Invalid Casting

POSTED: 4:40 pm PST December 15, 2004

SAN DIEGO -- A complete review of disqualified ballots in San Diego's mayoral race showed Wednesday that write-in candidate Donna Frye had enough support to unseat incumbent Dick Murphy if those votes were counted.

The final tally showed that 5,547 voters wrote Frye's name but failed to darken the adjoining bubble. That would have easily been enough to overtake Murphy's 2,108-vote margin of victory.

Sally McPherson, San Diego County's registrar of voters, reaffirmed her position Wednesday that ballots with unfilled bubbles cannot be counted under state election law, setting the stage for another courtroom showdown over the Nov. 2 election.

"Law says that you got to fill in the oval. I don't think our position will change -- it will not change," McPherson said.

A Superior Court judge refused last month to order the registrar to count the empty-bubble write-in ballots.

Murphy was sworn into office last week.

The count of precinct-cast ballots was done by lawyers and volunteers representing the mayoral candidates and representatives of several news organizations, including 10News.

According to an exclusive 10News/Survey USA poll, nearly two-thirds of San Diegans think all the ballots with Frye's name written in but without the bubble filled in should be counted. Sixty percent said those votes should be counted while 37 percent said they should not. Three percent were not sure.

If those ballots aren't counted, 58 percent of San Diegans believe Frye should file a legal challenge while 38 percent think she should not. Four percent weren't sure.
Copyright 2004 by 10News.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

IMHO the write in votes should be counted. There was 0 doubt of the voter's intention. This isn't an exam. It's a vote.

Even if the voter fills in the bubble, the ballots have to be examined and sorted for any write-in candidates anyway, so the bubble serves no purpose but to confuse the issue. The rule seems an obvious ploy to confuse voters and disallow write-in votes, regardless of the candidate.

Design a voting system to over challenge voters who take the initiative to exercise they right to choose their leaders. This process has to be corrected. ( I was going to say fixed, but too Bushy sounding)