Posted on 11/11/2010 6:47:46 AM PST by SeattleBruce
Reporting from Juneau, Alaska — The tedious scrutinizing of the more than 92,500 write-in ballots cast in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska got underway in a chilly warehouse Wednesday, with observers for Republican Joe Miller's campaign determined to challenge any variation in the spelling of rival Lisa Murkowski's name.
And judging from the multiple derivations voters attempted — Lisa Muroski, LSI Murkswke, Lisa Mvrowski, Lesa Merkesken, Lisa M., along with at least one ballot cast for Jesus Christ — there will be no shortage of opportunities for argument.
"We expect to have a recount. We expect it may go to court," Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell told reporters. "I believe the counters are doing a legitimate job of trying to determine the intent … and if it's then challenged in court, the court may be the final arbiter."
--snip--
"The law is pretty clear that it has to be filled in just as it is on the declaration of candidacy," said Randy DeSoto, Miller's spokesman. "Our concern is the Legislature, when they made the law, wanted to get away from all this confusion by making it very clear."
State officials have said they are relying on at least two court decisions that require them to determine what a voter's intent was. If it's apparent that a voter intended to vote for Murkowski, even if there is a minor misspelling, Division of Elections chief Gail Fenumiai said she was counting it as a valid vote.
"If I can't make a phonetic understanding of the name, I say no," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.latimes.com ...
I agree with you up to a point. But for the shoe to genuinely be on the other foot the Tea Partier would have had to have lost the GOP Primary to the RINO and then run as a write-in candidate in a three-way general election. In such a case I and many other FReepers would have demanded that the Tea Partier throw in the towel and accept their defeat at the hands of the GOP Primary electorate.
You may be right with 7-2. It was so long ago.......
its a petty point I know...but since this is the second little petty law that is being broken for Cow, it adds up...
let the will of the people stand...Miller or not....
but lets stop changing laws to fix the election in favor of one person....
“I hear you. I just wonder, if the shoe were on the other foot, if everyone would be as vehement in support of tossing out write-in votes for Joe Miler, or Jon Miller, or Joseph Miller.”
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I’m a little less sympathetic toward Lisa Murkowski given that she already LOST to Joe Miller in the GOP primary. If she had won that race in the first place, then she wouldn’t be in the mess she’s in now.
Bottom line... If you lose in the primary, you should not be permitted to re-enter the general election. Period.
I think that ever changing is what is happening here.
Murky loses the primary so she tries write in...
She has a difficult name so:
she demands lists (law changed)
she demands spelling does not count (law change)
she demands procedure of bubble and name does not matter (law change)
there is no end to these games.
But then I heard him say on some news show that if the counter could understand what the name on the ballot was supposed to be, then the vote would be counted....
When I was a kid, people who acted like these smarmy, lying suck-ups were taught a lesson on the playground.
Guys,
We are losing our principals and principals differentiate us from the others. If we have free elections and the citizens of our constitutional republic make a bad choice we should honor it and not look for sneaky ways to avoid the result. Why not put ourselves above the low lifes and not use the god damn courts to try to steal an election that Murkowski appears to have won fairly.
“On Nov. 3rd there was 69,797 votes for Joe Miller to date which must include the absentees he now has 82,180 the write in category had 81,000+ now there are 92,979 does that also include absentees?”
Educated guess: Yes. What I don’t know, and haven’t seen, is the number of absentee ballots remaining. I’ve been seeing the number 31,000 tossed around a lot - is that what remains, or the total, or?? But the military ballots’ deadline isn’t even up til next Wed.
“Even if Murkowsky doesn’t exist?”
If a RINO is felled in the primary hunt, but lies and goes back on her word, does she really exist? Even the ‘i’ version? Oh, the LIE version exists to be sure.
MurkowskLIE - that’s how the write-ins should be required to vote for the existing RINO.
I don’t think there are many absentees left. Looks to me like Murky got as many as Miller. As far as military votes....I’ll be surprised if there are 5,000. They have to be in by the 17th and counted on the 17th. So unless Miller has something up his sleeve it doesn’t look too good for him.
Well, I do agree that his chances look slim. He’s only down by 10,799 as of yesterday’s results though - and the uncontested write-ins for Murk are coming in at 89.23%. Multiplied by the number of write-ins that’s about 82,965 votes to Miller’s current 82,180. Now if Miller outpaces murk in the remaining absentees and military votes, he could lose a couple minor challenges in his contested votes and still win. But it looks like he may have to run the table with his challenges (a strict court interpretation of current AK election law) to win.
“In yesterdays count Murky got 98% of the write ins”
97.7% and 8.48% are contested.
We should DEFINITELY be in favor of upholding settled law (unless it contradicts God's law). It's the RATS that love the murky ‘interpretive’ law and ‘living’ Constitution rubbish.
“Seems election officials are bending over backwards in Alaska to allow a person who lost the PRIMARY to still get elected.”
And who lied about respecting those primary results. Lisa - YOU LIE.
“If the voter didn’t do it... too bad, too sad. Maybe next time, they will do what is required of them.”
Or they can advocate, agitate and fund a drive to change the laws - to allow a 1 or 2 letter ‘grace’. Sorry, that will apply to the future - if they care about the law at all.
“I agree with you up to a point. But for the shoe to genuinely be on the other foot the Tea Partier would have had to have lost the GOP Primary to the RINO and then run as a write-in candidate in a three-way general election. In such a case I and many other FReepers would have demanded that the Tea Partier throw in the towel and accept their defeat at the hands of the GOP Primary electorate.”
And I’ll add one more item here - we’re just darn lucky we didn’t throw this race to the RAT, which would have happened in many/most other states. That’s usually what happens when some 3rd party yahoo/spoiler jumps in. (yeah, that’s you murk.)
“Why not put ourselves above the low lifes and not use the god damn courts to try to steal an election that Murkowski appears to have won fairly.”
Is it stealing an election to apply currently existing election law? Come again?
Is it fair, when you lose a primary, to just insert yourself onto the ballot because you can, especially when you said you wouldn’t (you lied?)
Stop it. If you mistakenly voted for the Democrat instead of the Republican, would that mean you were disenfranchised? Nobody prevented that voter from correctly filling out the ballot.
Are you equally concerned about the disenfranchisement of voters whose legitimate ballots are nullified by those that are not cast properly according to the law?
“try to steal an election that Murkowski appears to have won fairly.”
I personally don’t like to be lied to - which Murkowski did, saying she’d respect the results of the primary, and then not doing so. Liar. Mebbe you’re OK with that.
Nuff said!
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