Correa seeks recount after 43-vote defeat in O.C. supervisor race

Former state Sen. Lou Correa -- who lost his bid for a seat on the Orange County Board of Supervisors to Andrew Do by a 43-vote margin -- has officially sought a recount of last Tuesday’s special election.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley confirmed to The Times that Correa submitted his demand for a recount about 7 p.m. Monday.

A recount of the 49,000 votes cast could begin as early as next Monday, and the process would cost $2,400 per day, Kelley said.

The recount casts uncertainty on Do’s election, which gave the five-member board its first ever Asian American majority.

Michelle Park Steel, a Korean immigrant, and Lisa Bartlett, a Japanese American, were elected to the county governing body in November.

Do, a Republican, had less name recognition than Correa but targeted the sizable Vietnamese enclave of Little Saigon, where activists helped mobilize voter turnout.

Do served twice as the chief of staff for former Supervisor Janet Nguyen -- who previously held the seat -- and benefited from her heavy campaigning for him in the Vietnamese-language media.

Correa, a Democrat, had the upper hand in fundraising, pulling in nearly $80,000 in six weeks.

He sat on the Board of Supervisors before, winning the 1st District seat in 2004 before resigning in 2006 after his election to the state Senate, where he served two terms.

Times staff writer Anh Do contributed to this report.

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