A majority of California voters in one rural county have so far chosen to elect a dead candidate to the position of county supervisor, according to unofficial election results in the Nov. 3 race that officials say is still too close to call.
Bruce Giudici, who was running for Calaveras County District 5 supervisor, died more than two months ago due to injuries he sustained from a fall while campaigning door-to-door. His campaign says Giudici, 68, fell on a steep driveway in August as he knocked on doors. A homeowner in the neighborhood he was canvassing called 911, and Giudici succumbed to his injuries a day later.
Despite his Aug. 31 death, Giudici has so far received 57.1% of the vote over his opponent, Clyde Clapp, who previously served on the Calaveras County Board of Supervisors.
Though the election is nominally nonpartisan, Clapp was backed by Reform California, a conservative-leaning organization dedicated to “taking back our state from the far-left politicians and special interests.”
Giudici, according to his obituary, was a leader of the Peace and Justice Network of San Joaquin County, an activist organization centered on “social justice,” and he edited its political newspaper.
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As of the latest tabulation of votes, published late Tuesday afternoon by the county, Giudici is beating Clapp by a 14.2-point margin with 2,002 ballots cast for Giudici compared to Clapp’s 1,505 votes, a difference of 497 votes to date.
According to the county website, 168 ballots still need to be processed, which include unprocessed ballots that are “damaged, need to be remade, or require further review.”
There are also an additional 340 ballots “left to cure,” meaning they had signatures on their return envelopes that either did not match or were missing altogether. When voting by mail, voters must sign the back of the envelope containing their completed ballot to verify voter identity. Votes up and down the ballot in Calaveras County were overwhelmingly cast by mail, relative to in-person voting.
Combined, the 508 ballots remaining could be enough to close the 497-vote gap between Giudici and Clapp.
Bruce Giudici’s campaign has been circulating an informational pamphlet telling voters that electing the dead candidate would allow for “a vetted community member” to be appointed as interim supervisor by the incoming California governor.
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Bruce Giudici’s campaign has been circulating an informational pamphlet telling voters that electing the dead candidate would allow for “a vetted community member” to be appointed as interim supervisor by the incoming California governor.
Giudici’s campaign has been telling voters to vote for the deceased candidate anyway, saying that Californians would be “honoring Bruce” by electing him and thereby “prevent[ing] Clyde Clapp from winning.”
“Bruce may be gone, but his mission continues,” the campaign wrote on the day of his death.
Even after his sudden death, Giudici has secured several high-profile endorsements, including labor union support and a vote of confidence from the current District 5 supervisor, who told The Union Democrat, “He’s the best guy for the job, even in this situation, unfortunately.”
In addition to knocking on doors and coordinating shifts to wave “Vote for Bruce” signs, his campaign has created a postmortem guide explaining to voters what happens “once Bruce is elected.”
Under California law, in the event that Giudici wins, Gov.-elect Xavier Becerra (D-CA) would install someone to temporarily fill that vacant seat in January, when the current District 5 supervisor’s term ends and at which point Becerra will be sworn in.
Becerra’s appointee would hold office until a successor is selected through a special election or the next supervisor race set for March 2028, roughly 16 months after the midterm elections.
The next round of election results is expected by 5 p.m. local time Friday. Ballot counting continues until no further ballots remain. The election results must be certified no later than Dec. 3.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
