Good morning from the Fresno ballot count!

Today represents the official count of the ballots cast by Fresno homecare providers in an election that took place between June 1st and 15th in.Fresno County. The outcome of this    election will determine whether NUHW or SEIU represents 10,000 Fresno homecare providers…

9AM –So, no wireless here at the County Office Building, so this is a mobile liveblog, forgive my thumbs!

9:15 AM Both sides fill the room. We’re upstairs in a small, windowless 30′ x 30′ room. The ballots are rolled on two carts by the officials. Some of  us are going to have to leave…looks like we’re down to 18 audience members from either side.

9:30 A warm cheer goes up from the NUHW side, Toni Landin, an NUHW activist who was injured in a car accident during the election is wheeled in.

10:00 AM They are slicing open envelopes and the ballot counters are working at three tables with an obsever from each side.

10:15 AM We have official news. Just under 6,000 Ballots were received by the County.

10:45 AM Outer Ballot envelopes are still being opened.(The stamped envelopes that contain the secret ballot envelopes, which contain the ballots) Piles of green secret ballot envelopes are rising on each table. Conversations in Hmong, Spanish and English fill the room as the envelope opening machine whirs.

11:15 AM The ballot counters take a break..No secret ballots have been opened yet.

11:30 AM They are opening the green secret ballot envelopes by hand and making piles of ballots face down on the table. (For folks out there wondering…there’s no counting involved in this process, just opening ballot envelopes by hand and removing ballots.)

12:00 PM They are still opening ballots by hand. Some of the ballot counters are breaking for lunch. Bear with us here, this process will take some time. This election is well on its way to breaking record turnout.

A big hello goes out to the NUHW supporters who’ve found some shade in front of the building.

12:30 More and more ballots are on the table. Still no news or ballot counts.Take out coffees slowly are making an appearence.Apparently this office building also has an affordable and friendly cafeteria. The grilled chicken and vegetables gets a big thumbs up as does the Turkey Breast Sandwich.

12:50 PM I’d like to take.a moment to thank Mrs. Hall of Fresno who hosted this blogger on short notice last night. Thank you and enjoy the Irish Dance Competition!

1:15 PM Here’s the first official quote from NUHW, “With approximately 20% of the ballots sorted this looks like a close race.”

1:50 PM Second official quote from NUHW: “With 30% of the ballots sorted this still looks like a close race.”

2:05 The sound of ballots being unfolded is non stop. Envelopes are still being opened by hand.Folks on both sides have started standing up to watch the ballots sorted into piles.

2:15 PM Since you all don’t have visuals…let me try to describe what everyone in the room is seeing.  There’s one table opening ballots and two tables unfolding and sorting those ballots into piles. There’s no official ballot counting at all yet.Each side’s observers can look from their position at the sorting table…but the ballots are piled up on the sort piles very quickly.

2:30 PM The last of the mail pallets with ballot envelopes are on the tables. All three tables are opening them.

2:45 Official word from NUHW: “With 75% of the ballots sorted, this continues to look like a close race.”

3:05 PM The vote counting area is being cordoned off.

Both sides have grown to over 18 people in the room. The officials demand that both sides get back to 18.

Vote count to begin soon.

3:20 The vote count is about to begin.

At each table one vote counter counts groups of 25 Ballots from a sorted pile, then a second vote counter verifies those ballots. The ballots will be sorted into blocs of 25 by vote and turned over to officials.

3:25 PM The counting has begun.

3:35 PM This will be the fastest aspect of the process. It is going very swiftly.

3:45 PM The room is mostly silent at this point.The count continues. Blocs of 25 votes are being handed in every minute or less.

3:55 PM Still counting.

4:15 PM The count is finished and the ballots have been handed in to the officials.

4:30 The election official has announced that there is an exact 200 vote difference between the sides. One “unit,” he does not say which,has 2769 and the other “unit” has 2569.

There are hundreds of set aside and contested ballots. They are discussing those totals now.

4:45 The number of ballots yet to be counted is still being determined. There are hundreds of them and there are numerous categories of ballots that were set aside and not counted. (For example, ballots not sealed in the green secret envelope, ballots damaged in the mail, ballots sealed with tape.)

5PM The leaders on both sides have retreated to strategize how to follow through on the remaining ballots.

Now both sides have returned and are stating what they will and won’t accept, and will or won’t challenge.

The election officials have agreed to count an initial 300+ ballots that both sides agree upon counting.

Having counted those ballots the officials will weigh whether the margin has closed or not and whether any remaining ballots that stand uncounted could change the outcome.

5:15 PM This goes without saying…but it’s clear in the room that the Fresno homecare workers whose election this was are hanging on every decision and every word.

5:35 They’ve begun counting 290 ballots that were mailed in the retrun envelope but not in the secret ballot envelope.

6:00 The ballots in that pool of 290 are being tallied and we have a new margin shortly…NUHW 119  SEIU 155 was announced to the room with the balance no union or spoiled.

6:10 They now announce that SEIU was the union with 2769 ballots and NUHW was the union with 2569 ballots. The net margin is now being recalculated.

6:25 SEIU-UHW is taking this lull in the action to videotape some celebrations. Both sides are still in the room awaiting the margin announcement.

6:30 SEIU’s lawyer claims victory with the new margin and asks that the counting stop. (There are around 100 votes left at issue.) NUHW asks that all the votes be counted and indicates that we want all the ballots protected for a recount.NUHW’s lawyer also mentions that there are grave legal issues raised by SEIU’s conduct in this election.