Recounting the Drama: Hill Places Second, Miller Placed in Cuffs
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By David Taub, Senior Reporter
Published 7 years ago on
July 9, 2018
Fresno council candidate Daren Miller argues with election official Ravi Gill as a sheriff's deputy looks on (GV Wire photo/David Taub)

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Watching a recount is the political equivalent of watching paint dry.
Until security removes a candidate in handcuffs.
In the end, Tate Hill not only kept his second-place spot, he gained votes and expanded his lead. He will now face Miguel Arias in a runoff in November for the Fresno City Council District 3 seat.
For Daren Miller, Monday (July 9) provided a harsh lesson in civics.
“(It’s) disappointing that I’m not going to be in the runoff, that’s one side of it,” Miller said after the results sealed his fate. “We have huge issues in the ways we do our elections.”

Frustrated Miller Cuffed


According to Miller, county security guards placed him in handcuffs and escorted him out of the Fresno County Election Training Facility after he refused to leave when officials wanted to lock up the room for the lunch hour.
He was not arrested, and uncuffed once he left the room.
Miller became agitated a short time earlier in a disagreement and/or misunderstanding with election officials over the purpose of the recount. As Miller understood it, the election official told him the process was only to recount the votes and not change a result.
Cooler heads did not prevail after the hour-long lunch break. Miller continued his argument before proceedings resumed, delaying the recount by about 15 minutes.
“How many minutes did you spend in handcuffs today?” Miller rhetorically asked election official Ravi Gill. A sheriff’s deputy called in to keep the peace helped calm the candidate down.
Fresno County Clerk Brandi Orth declined to comment on the incident.
Throughout the day, Miller lamented over various aspects of the recount law. He wondered why extra payment is needed for election workers to conduct a recount. He wanted the law changed to allow an automatic recount if the margin is within 0.5%.

The Ongoing Count

“Miguel…Yes. Miguel…Yes.”
Those were the sounds heard from one of two tables of four vote counters: one to recount, one to confirm, and two to mark down the tally. Box by box, each representing a precinct, the special recount board examined each paper ballot.
Earlier in the morning, Orth denied a Miller challenge of 23 uncounted provisional and absentee ballots. None of those ballots had a proper signature, Orth ruled, and thus could not be counted.
The original schedule had the count stopping at 4 p.m. When that time arrived, an elections official announced the counting would continue for another 75 minutes or so. That was enough to count the remaining 12 boxes of votes.
Orth announced the tally shortly thereafter. Hill, who came into the recount with a six-vote lead (768-762), picked up four votes to finish at 772. Miller lost two votes, sliding back to 760, doubling Hill’s final margin of victory.


The original results will remain as the officially certified results, Orth explained, because the results did not change.
Miller paid $7,924 for the recount. If there was a silver lining, by finishing in one day, he did not have to pay an extra $2,000 that clerk would charge him to continue for a second day of vote counting.

Hill Survives


Hill, the former CEO of the Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce, attended part of the day-long count.
“I’m looking forward to November and have an opportunity to share my message to the residents of District 3,” Hill said after the day’s events. “I look forward to gaining support from the other candidates.”

Final Results

Candidate Before Recount After Recount Margin
Miguel Arias 1,478 1,486 +8
Tate Hill 768 772 +4
Daren Miller 762 760 -2
Craig Scharton 729 725 -4
Larry Burrus 604 604 0
Kimberly Tapscott-Munson 424 424 0
Sean Sanchez 260 261 +1
Blank ballots 421 426 +5
Overvotes 10 8 -2

 

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David Taub,
Senior Reporter
Curiosity drives David Taub. The award-winning journalist might be shy, but feels mighty with a recorder in his hand. He doesn't see it his job to "hold public officials accountable," but does see it to provide readers (and voters) the information needed to make intelligent choices. Taub has been honored with several writing awards from the California News Publishers Association. He's just happy to have his stories read. Joining GV Wire in 2016, Taub covers politics, government and elections, mainly in the Fresno/Clovis area. He also writes columns about local eateries (Appetite for Fresno), pro wrestling (Off the Bottom Rope), and media (Media Man). Prior to joining the online news source, Taub worked as a radio producer for KMJ and PowerTalk 96.7 in Fresno. He also worked as an assignment editor for KCOY-TV in Santa Maria, California, and KSEE-TV in Fresno. He has also worked behind the scenes for several sports broadcasts, including the NCAA basketball tournament, and the Super Bowl. When not spending time with his family, Taub loves to officially score Fresno Grizzlies games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue! You can contact David at 559-492-4037 or at Send an Email

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