Gap between Marquez, Murray closes

DOWNEY - City Council incumbent Luis Marquez leads used car dealer Michael Murray by only 18 votes and there are still more votes to be counted, according to updated election results released by the L.A. County Registrar-Recorder's office on Tuesday.With all precincts reporting, Marquez had seemingly won the election last week by 96 votes. However, county officials later said that provisional ballots had yet to be processed and updated election results showed that the District 1 City Council race was neck and neck. "There are many ballots remaining to be counted," registrar officials said. "Vote by Mail ballots go through signature verification and are cross-checked with precinct rosters. Provisional ballots are sorted by category, verified for voter eligibility and then signature checked." Another ballot update is expected to be released Friday.

********** Published: November 15, 2012 - Volume 11 - Issue 31