Propped Up

Prop 72 lingers on, reports the December 1, 2004 edition of the Los Angeles Times, as state officials recount late ballots and report a possible marginal victory for proponents of state manadated health insurance.

The fate of a statewide proposition mandating health insurance coverage — assumed to have been defeated in the Nov. 2 election — was thrown into confusion Tuesday night after the secretary of state's office reported that late-counted ballots had given Proposition 72 a narrow margin of victory.

But state elections officials, who had posted the results on the secretary of state's website after the close of business Tuesday, removed them a few hours later, fearing that a clerical error was responsible for the surprising turnaround.

Officials said they would verify the information [Thursday].

So far the Secretary of State's listing Prop 72 as not passing. But it was a tight, tight race, folks.

Health Care Coverage
Yes Votes: 5,646,046 49.1% No Votes: 5,845,476 50.9%

(Click on a map above to see how each county voted for the proposition.)