Former California Assembly Speaker John Perez is calling off the vote recount he requested in the race for state controller.
Perez requested the recount in 15 counties after finishing third in the June 3rd primary. The Los Angeles Democrat was 481 votes behind fellow Democrat Betty Yee. Perez picked up only a handful of votes in recounts this week in Imperial and Kern counties.
He says in a statement that "there is simply not enough time to see this process through to the end."
California law has no provision for an automatic recount, and Perez's campaign has had to pay county election staff. Perez says the controller's race highlighted flaws in California's election law. He also endorsed Yee against Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, a Republican.
Perez served in the State Assembly the last six years and is termed out of office.
