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Discrepancy attributed to clerical error Although discrepancies remain in the manual recount of votes for Cameron County judge, authorities said an investigation into the matter does not suggest any criminal act. Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos said his office was asked to look into the situation and after taking affidavits and questioning Election Administrator Roger Ortiz and other election staff it appears that no criminal wrongdoing occurred. “At this point there is no criminal investigation that would affect the voting or that would affect the Elections Department,” Villalobos said Wednesday. What it boils down to is a “clerical error”...

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Republican Party of Minnesota took the governor's race to the state Supreme Court on Wednesday, seeking to shrink the ballot pool in the undecided contest between Democrat Mark Dayton and RepublicanTom Emmer before a recount begins after Thanksgiving. A person with direct knowledge of the filing told The Associated Press that the GOP was asking the high court to force election officials to remove ballots in all precincts statewide where more votes were cast than the number of voters recorded.

Carlos Cascos stood his ground Sunday, disputing reports from Democratic Party officials that a review of the recount of Nov. 2 election returns showed him losing to John Wood by five votes for county judge instead of winning by 50 votes as the Cameron County Elections Department had reported Saturday night. “I look forward to continuing my work for the people of Cameron County as their county judge,” Cascos, the Republican incumbent, wrote in a press release issued at noon Sunday. Shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, word began to spread that a review of tally sheets at the recount —...

There's a climate-controlled floor in the state archives building in Tallahassee where two distinct collections are kept for posterity: the case files of convicted murderers, and the ballots for the 2000 presidential election. "The punch cards are now so brittle that most of the holes have been punched out," said Jennifer Krell Davis of the Florida Department of State. "There's no useful application for them anymore." But letting go of the desiccated physical remains of the most contentious election in the state's history, an election that began 10 years ago today, stretched over a monthlong recount, and decided a presidency...

post more on this when I have it, but two sources who are familiar with the recanvassing of the voting machines in NY-1 tell me that GOPer Randy Altschuler, who'd been down several thousand votes to Democratic Rep. Tim Bishop is now up between 300 and 400 with the recanvass completed. There's over 9,000 absentee ballots to be counted starting next week, but the Republican had been down by 3,400.

An Education in Washington Politics Election night, after the ten counties in her district reported their votes, Renee Ellmers led incumbent Congressman Bob Etheridge by 2,100 votes. (That number is crucial because under North Carolina law Congressman Etheridge is not entitled to an ‘automatic recount’ if he trails by more than 1% – or 1,888 votes.) Then the afternoon after the election – out of a clear blue sky – the vote totals changed. The State Board of Elections reported Mrs. Ellmers’ lead had dropped to 1,600 votes. The explanation, when it came to light, was as old as time:...

A newly discovered group of ballots is giving a slight boost to Democrat Al Franken's chances in the disputed Minnesota Senate race, but it still isn't enough to undo the incumbent's persistent lead. Ramsey County officials found the 171 ballots yesterday, just as they were wrapping up their recount. After the votes were tallied, Franken gained 37 votes on incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman's lead. Through yesterday, Coleman's margin was 303 votes. However, the numbers can still shift as the last counties wrap up their work this week.

Be polite: Ask Senator Cornyn Why he has yet to contact Joe Miller and offer him resources and a legal team for the Alaskan recount to take place on November 10th? 202 224 2934

Alaska's Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell, who oversees elections, told the Associated Press that write-in ballots for Miller will be tossed out. http://nation.foxnews.com/joe-miller/2010/11/03/miller-getting-hosed-alaska THAT WOULD BE ILLEGAL! AS 15.15.360. Rules For Counting Ballots. (a) The election board shall count ballots according to the following rules: (9) Write-in votes are not invalidated by writing in the name of a candidate whose name is printed on the ballot unless the election board determines, on the basis of other evidence, that the ballot was so marked for the purpose of identifying the ballot. http://touchngo.com/lglcntr/akstats/Statutes/Title15/Chapter15/Section360.htm WE NEED EVERYONE TO CALL THE OMBUDSMAN OFFICE AND FILE...

I just received this e-mail: Dear Supporter, Election night, after the ten counties in my district had reported their votes, I led Bob Etheridge by 2,100 votes. (That number is crucial because under North Carolina law Congressman Etheridge is not entitled to an ‘automatic recount’ if he trails by more than 1% – or 1,888 votes.) Then, yesterday afternoon – unexpectedly – the vote totals changed. The State Board of Elections reported my lead had dropped to 1,600 votes. Two hours later Bob Etheridge announced he intended to call for a recount. As a result, last night my campaign began...

Raleigh, N.C. — Seven-term Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge on Wednesday said he will call for a recount in his re-election bid, where he trails Republican challenger Renee Ellmers by about 1,600 votes. Ellmers claimed victory late Tuesday, and The Associated Press also declared her the winner in the tight Second District race.

You have to be kidding me. No matter how many times you shake your head or rub your eyes, Minnesota voters on Tuesday once again demonstrated their almost Shakespearean flair for the dramatic, delivering another dead-heat race just two years after a lengthy statewide U.S. Senate recount tested the nerves of local elections officials and the patience of the nation. With 100 percent of the precincts reporting, DFLer Mark Dayton unofficially led Republican Tom Emmer by 0.4 percent, close enough to trigger a statewide recount in the governor's race. Fresh from storming their way to control of the state Legislature...

In a grimly familiar scene for Minnesota politics, the governor’s race between apparent winner Mark Dayton and Republican challenger Tom Emmer is headed to a recount. With 100 percent of the state’s precincts reporting, Dayton leads Emmer by 8,854 votes. This number requires a mandatory recount under state law as it is within one-half of one percentage point.

With only a half of a percentage point separating DFL candidate Mark Dayton and Republican candidate Tom Emmer, Minnesota Republican leaders say they will pursue the recount until every single vote is counted. "We believe that we owe it not just to the Republican party and Tom Emmer, we owe it to the state to make sure this is done correctly," State Chair Tony Sutton told reporters Wednesday. "What I'd like to make sure is that the votes are counted and that everything is done correctly to make sure people aren't being disenfranchised." Sutton says the party wants assurances that...

Just two days before the statute of limitations ran out, on the very day that the nation was at the polls for midterm elections, the Nobles County attorney's office filed charges against two people for voting in the 2008 election while ineligible. Monica Duarte Duchene, 36, and Ryan Scott Marsh, 30, both of Worthington, were charged in Nobles County District Court of voting at a time when they were ineligible due to a prior felony conviction which had not been discharged. Duchene was convicted in December 2007 of third-degree arson and sentenced in February 2008 to five years of probation,...

The Minnesota governor's race is so close it has come to this: another recount appears almost certain. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, DFLer Mark Dayton leads Republican Tom Emmer by less than one half of 1 percent -- 43.67% to 43.24%. For any race where the margin is less than one half of 1 percent, there is an automatic recount, as happened two years ago in Minnesota's U.S. Senate race. "It looks like it's recount part II: And this time it's personal," said state Republican Party Chair Tony Sutton.

Football coaches want to win in the air or on the ground. Many have almost open disdain for the kicker. But when the game comes down to the wire, he often is the the difference between an amazing victory or an agonizing defeat. Political campaigns have their own air (TV and radio ads) and ground (get-out-the-vote and other efforts) strategies. The vast majority of races will have clear winners. But in those instances where a few dozen or few hundred votes separate the contenders, the fight will move to the courtroom.

Democratic and Republican officials in Washington say they have elaborate plans in place involving training sessions for recount volunteers, Washington lawyers who specialize in recount efforts and detailed plans about how to mobilize legal and public relations resources if a recount is necessary. Rob Jesmer, the executive director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, admitted, “there’s something else that keeps me up at night beyond tight poll numbers. Recounts.” In the e-mail, Mr. Jesmer urges supporters to donate money so the party can be ready to field lawyers on Nov. 3 in places where recounts might be necessary. “We cannot...

If history is any guide, there will be several House races and probably a couple of Senate races that end up so close after the votes are counted that a recount will be mandated. There will also be the usual charges of fraud and vote stealing by both sides, which will put pressure on state election officials to investigate these claims. Will it be worse this time around? With so much at stake this year, and with the lessons and emotions of Minnesota 2008 and Florida 2000 lingering, recounts will almost certainly trigger an all-out assault from Washington-based election stars...

08/25/2010 12:43 CHINA Chinese police "remove" ballots and block vote count In a village near Beijing the head of the Communist Party wins local elections by a few votes, but the police prevent the election commission from conducting a full count. Protests explode and there with several arrests. Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least 13 residents (including three members of the electoral college of control) have been arrested and several others sought in the wake of protests that erupted in late July over elections in the village of Raolefu, a rural area in the suburbs of Beijing. On July...