One voter in Santa Clara County demanded a recount of the March 5th jungle primary in California’s 16th Congressional District to break a tie between two Democrats, Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who were each declared to have finished in second place with 30,249 votes, a situation that would have put both candidates on the November ballot along with top vote-getter, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, another Democrat.

Politico reports a voter named Jonathan Padilla requested the recount, which will cost approximately $300,000, to be paid by the campaign requesting.  Low claims Padilla is a former campaign staffer for Liccardo.  “This is a page right out of Trump’s political playbook using dirty tricks to attack democracy and subvert the will of the voters,” Whitney Larsen, a spokesperson for the Low, said, noting Liccardo, “did not file a recount himself. Instead, he had his former staffer do it for him. What’s he afraid of?”

Liccardo denies any connection to the man’s request.  But a spokesperson said the campaign understands the need for a recount in a tight race. “Every vote should be counted, and that’s why recounts are part of the state’s electoral process to ensure accuracy,” the campaign representative said in a text. Because a recount was requested, the cost of the effort–set at $32,000 per day for ten days–must be paid by the requesting campaign before it starts.  If the money isn’t paid, the recount doesn’t happen.