A Mere 812 Vote Gap Between Yes on 92 and No on 92 Campaigns Triggers Recount
David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the top-selling natural brand of soap in North America, issued a statement today regarding the recount in the Ballot Measure 92 campaign in Oregon to label genetically engineered foods. The company donated $2 million to the Yes on 92 campaign.
Due to an unprecedented grassroots effort to make sure all votes were counted, regarding Ballot Measure 92, voter ballots continued to be turned in to the Oregon Secretary of State over the past few weeks. The final gap between Yes on 92 and No on 92 was a mere 812 votes—approximately five-hundredths of one percent difference (0.054%). Oregon law requires a recount if there is less than a 0.2 percent margin of difference.
David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s, issued the following statement:
“Dr. Bronner’s anticipates that the Oregon recount will add significant votes to the Yes on 92 side, following trends in other hand recounts in which the progressive side picks up votes (Franken in Minnesota in 2008 and Gore in New Mexico and Florida in 2000). This may be because voters unfamiliar with the process excessively mark-up a ballot or otherwise compromise readability via machine, but nonetheless the voter’s intent is clear to the naked eye. Oregon law robustly recognizes voter intent in hand recounts and does not disenfranchise voters lightly. The recount in New Mexico in 2000 moved 0.06% in favor of Gore, and there are many new votes in favor of Yes on 92 in Oregon that have been discovered by hand-count.
Regardless of the outcome, Oregonians have demonstrated that record-breaking spending by chemical and junk food companies will not stop the movement to label food that is engineered by chemical companies to survive high doses of the pesticides they sell. The state of Vermont has already joined 64 countries around the world that mandate labeling, and other states will do so by 2016 if not before. In the larger, more progressive presidential electorate in 2016, Yes on 92 would easily prevail; that message is clearly understood by friend and foe alike. With the introduction of crops engineered to tolerate massive amounts of the toxic herbicide 2,4 D, mandatory labeling will become reality by 2016, as ever greater amounts of toxic pesticides saturate our food and farming communities, and citizens wake up to the pesticide industry boondoggle of GE crops.”
The recount is scheduled to begin today, December 2, 2014, and is expected to be complete by December 12. The Yes on Measure 92 campaign will have trained observers in every county elections office across the state to monitor the hand recount.
“The outcome of this race has yet to be determined. The Yes on Measure 92 campaign continues to be optimistic that when all of the votes are counted by hand, we will emerge victorious. We are going to be closely monitoring the recount as we work to ensure that every valid ballot is counted,” said Sandeep Kaushik, a spokesperson for the Yes on Measure 92 campaign.
Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps’ commitment to healthy and sustainable agriculture, corporate accountability, and consumers’ right to know, is part of the company’s mission to put into practice the social and ecological principles that inform Dr. Bronner’s philosophy printed on the company’s iconic soap labels.