Posted on 11/17/2004 4:20:26 AM PST by bobjam
A statewide recount of the presidential vote appears inevitable after a pair of third-party candidates said they have collected enough money to pay for it.
The recount would be conducted after the election results are certified in early December.
Libertarian Michael Badnarik and the Green Party's David Cobb said on Monday they raised more than $150,000 in four days, mostly in small contributions.
Ohio law requires payment of $10 per precinct for a recount, or $113,600 statewide.
Badnarik and Cobb said they aren't trying to overturn President Bush's 136,000-vote victory in Ohio, but just want to ensure that all votes were counted properly in the face of concerns about Election Day irregularities.
"Our bottom line is to stand up for the integrity of the voting process because the voting process is the heart of the democratic process," said Blair Bobier, spokesman for Cobb.
Bobier said it will be worth the price to ensure the final outcome can be trusted.
Carlo LoParo, spokesman for Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, said the actual cost to county election boards combined will be about $1.5 million.
This is my favorite part...sure way to turn a red state redder...saddle the voters with a huge bill.
Libertarians=Greens.
'Nuff said.
After Badnarik's commercials attacking GWB and now this, I think it is safe to say that the Libertarians can no longer be considered friends on any level. Those who have libertarian leanings, like many of us do -- myself included -- must now come to realize that the Libertarian Party has become an enemy of their own aspirations.
This is perhaps why the founder of the Libertarian Party denounced Badnarik and implored Libertarians to support Bush in the election. The Libertarians have obviously been hijacked by the radical left.
Recounts rank right up their with rolling the dice in terms of discovering a "definitive" vote tally. Too many variables. No impact on electors in this one, though.
BS! What do they think they won? Come on.... What about New Hampshire?
I guess Sarandon is dancing in the streets.I hope the recount actually reveals that Bush won by more votes not less!
It's understandable that the Libertarian, true to form, is acting like a petulant, resentful snot, but what on Earth is the rationale behind Cobb's attempt to fleece the taxpayers of Ohio?
The RNC better have lawyers deployed. It ain't over until Inaugeration Day!
One Person, ONE VOTE!
Write your Representative, and Senator, asking for a bill to require photo I.D. in order to vote.
(yeah, yeah, I know there can still be fraud, but come on! Ya gotta start somewhere!)
What are the editorial pages of Ohio papers saying about this scam; are they pleased that the taxpayers have to shell out a mil-and-a-half?
Libertarians wasting taxpayer dollars ? Shocking !
Because however slight the possibility of a recount changing the outcome, it's greater than the possibility of the outcome changing without a recount.
Sorry, I did not see Nader in the article. It is Badnarik and Cobb that are asking for the recount. Is anyone not a D or R the same to you?
Yep, I reached the same conclusion, myself. They just crossed the line far as I'm concerned.
I wouldn't venture to guess, but if they're anything like the New York Times, I'm sure that fringe, radical candidates wringing the hard-earned money from their taxpayers is the furthest thing from their (collective) mind.
The Libertarians stand just where you stand. Individual freedom first and certainly honest elections. An election isn't honest just because your guy appears to have won. There is so much horrible junk in Ohio's result that I cannot understand why Kerry conceded so fast. There were whole counties that reported more votes than registrants. There was horrible vote suppression all over the state. This was a text book example of dirty tricks overwhelming the real vote. And only the Libertarians and Greens seem to give a fig. All you Bushbots don't care as long as your guy was the recipient of the fraud.
So who is going to be charged for this cost especially considering that it is nothing more than a publicity stunt?
Be ready for a batch of ballots to be miraculously found.
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