Alameda County to manually count signatures submitted to recall DA Pamela Price
Alameda County election officials said Thursday that they will conduct a manual count of signatures submitted in a petition to recall District Attorney Pamela Price.
The county registrar of voters said the results of a random sampling of the 123,374 signatures submitted on March 4 "are not sufficient to determine whether the signature threshold to call for a recall election has been met."
The recall effort needs 73,195 signatures to qualify, Alameda County Registrar of Voters Tim Dupuis said in a news release.
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors approved the public vote on the recall last November.
State law mandates that the registrar conduct a manual count because the random sampling didn't produce a "statistically confident determination of the sufficiency of the petition," Dupuis said.
The registrar said it was in the best interests of both Price and the recall proponents to ensure the signatures are counted reliably.
The recall has become a contentious issue in East Bay politics, with families of crime victims clashing with Price supporters at public forums. Last month, Price herself faced some pointed questions from Oakland business owners and residents who told her crime in the city has made living and working there next to impossible.
Price has faced severe criticism for her office's handling of high-profile cases, including in the murder of toddler Jasper Wu and Home Depot loss prevention employee Blake Mohs. The district attorney has faced pushback among residents frustrated about crime during town hall meetings in Oakland and Fremont.
Price is not the only elected official in the East Bay currently battling a recall. Last month, a group began collecting signatures for a push to recall Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao.