Chairmanship fight continues
Ballot review underway in hotly contested race between Kimberly Ellis, Eric Bauman
SACRAMENTO — As the bruising contest to lead the California Democratic Party continued Tuesday — nearly three days after the election — the players couldn’t even agree on what to call the scrutiny of ballots now underway.
Kimberly Ellis — a favorite of the pro-Bernie Sanders faction of the party who lost by just 62 votes to party vice chairman Eric Bauman — called it an “audit.” But a spokesman for the party says it’s a “review,” not an audit, and most definitely not a recount.
Bauman’s campaign referred questions to party headquarters.
“They’re not redoing anything,” said Steve Maviglio, a Democratic strategist hired
Sunday by the party to handle communications about the controversy. “They’re just literally looking at the ballots.”
In a lengthy, nine-point email sent to reporters Tuesday, Maviglio dismissed speculation about “ballot stuffing” and other ways the election might have been rigged. He said that the ballot boxes “are constantly monitored” during voting, with observers from each side, and that they are opened with those observers present.
The delegates’ ballots, which Maviglio said were counted twice on Saturday, are not secret.
“Any suspected problem ballot can be individually identified, tracked and segregated from the rest of the vote,” he said. “For this reason, the proverbial bad apple cannot spoil the bunch.”
Tensions remain high. In a statement released late Monday, Ellis asked her opponent not to participate in the process or to have any communication with party staff members.
“The validation of the election can only come from confidence that the process was fair and impartial,” Ellis said.
Bauman was not in the room Tuesday morning, Maviglio said, but each side had several representatives present. No cellphones or pens are allowed inside.
“This could take two hours. It could take three days,” he said.
Ellis said the process would be led by former California Democratic Party Controller Hilary Crosby, an accountant and professional auditor, and that it was critical for delegates to have confidence in the election’s outcome “so that we might move forward, irrespective of whomever wins.”
“Should the election results stand,” her statement said, “we will congratulate Eric on his wellearned success.”