Free Republic

Ten years ago, Al Gore tried to steal the presidency of George W. Bush. That is how the story should be written for all of history, but the left will try to spin it otherwise. Rehashing every single moment in the 36 day 2000 Election drama would be more boring than an Al Gore speech. A decade later, some things that were true in 2000 remain true in 2010. Richard Nixon could have sued to challenge the election of John Kennedy in 1960. There was real election fraud, with dead people in Chicago and other dirty tricks in LBJ’s home...

Absentee ballot counting ground to a halt at 11 a.m. Friday in the only still-undecided congressional race in the nation, as lawyers and strategists for both candidates continued preparation for a showdown in State Supreme Court next week. Republican challenger Randy Altschuler gained six votes on incumbent Democrat Tim Bishop in the count yesterday, narrowing the difference between the two candidates to 271 votes or 264 votes, depending on which side is doing the tally. (Bishop's camp has his lead at 271 but the difference is only 264 according to Altschuler's people.) But more than 1,400 paper ballots remain uncounted...

Rep. Solomon Ortiz conceded to his Republican challenger Monday night, according to a regional representative of the National Republican Congressional Committee who is in Texas’ 27th district. The Texas Democrat called challenger Blake Farenthold, a former radio talk-show host, as the last county in his district worked toward wrapping up its recount. The Farenthold victory brings the net Republican House pickups this cycle to 62 seats, with four House races still outstanding from the midterm elections. The Republican was on Capitol Hill last week for freshman orientation. Ortiz asked for the recount, which cost him $23,500, after the original unofficial...

Republican Renee Ellmers has unseated veteran Congressman Bob Etheridge, according to unofficial results of a recount in the tight race. Etheridge, a seven-term Democrat, picked up six votes on Ellmers after voting results from 10 counties were tabulated a second time, but it was nowhere near enough to overcome her 1,489-vote lead following the Nov. 2 election.

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.