Posted on 11/14/2010 11:22:24 PM PST by SeattleBruce
With the vast majority of write-in ballots counted, both Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Republican Joe Miller looked to Monday – when election officials will begin counting thousands of absentee ballots — as a key day in their U.S. Senate race.
After about 5,000 write-in ballots were counted Sunday, Murkowski kept up her success rate of winning about 89 percent of the write-in votes outright, plus an additional 8 percent of write-in votes that were challenged but still counted for the senator anyway.
However, officials still have to count about 40,000 absentee ballots this week, according to the Alaska Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai. That figure includes several thousand absentee ballots with write-in votes that have not been counted yet.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
According to the article:
Murkowski’s campaign touted they had a grand total of 85,756 votes – including challenged but counted votes – and were only 1,761 votes behind Republican Joe Miller with thousands of absentee and write-in ballots yet to be opened and counted.If absentee balloting continues previous trends, Miller has won.[snip]
With 87,517 votes in the bank, Miller’s campaign pointed out that he is leading even if all of the contested ballots are added to Murkowski’s totals. Miller campaign spokesman Randy DeSoto pointed out in a press release that already counted absentee ballots have skewed in their favor in the Senate race.
I've been wondering this - why does Politico cite “officials still have to count about 40,000 absentee ballots this week, according to the Alaska Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai.”
If that Politico number is true, somebody’s been holding back the statistics on a pretty large number of absentees. Since the first batch of absentees broke for Miller - this is good news for Miller and bad news for all the propagandists that curse at Miller, the TPs and Palin and wish they would just ‘go away’ and leave the status quo pork barreling alone.
“We pretty much need a miracle here.”
I’ve been saying for about a week that Miller needs to prevail in some of his vote challenges - but if the article cited above that talks about some of the ‘counted’ votes is true, there’s been some pretty funky vote counting.
This one might go all the way to the SCOTUS - and as such would highlight vote fraud, election law integrity - just the sorts of things that Joe Miller, Tea Parties and Sarah Palin are concerned about.
Hear, hear!!
As much as I hate to admit it; you’re right. Joe ran a sucky campaign. I think he underestimated the Wicked Witch from the North. And, the handcuffing incident, at a Miller rally, didn’t help.
“The Indians been conditioned for many years to be dependent on the Govt, enslaved even more than many other groups; and they think they have it good; as suicide, child abuse, alcohol, and the terrible social condition kills them off one by one, man it’s sad.”
That is VERY sad. Prayer up for revival in the land.
“Just remember, the bottom is about to fall out fiscally in our govt. Maybe then, the Lisa supporters will get the message loud & clear and LIsa will have 6 years of suffering trying to keep her promises of $$$$$$$$. It pisses me right off.”
This is true. Like Browny, and any of the sociliasts and RINOs things are not well, and their cock-eyed ideas are making things MUCH worse.
“This entire affair has been confusing- especially given the lack of official announcements on how many ballots are out there. Either it is a poorly run elections dept, or they are hoping Miller just gives up.”
I think we can’t eliminate your latter suggestion, which is simply stunning. UGH! Mebbe we’re starting to see what Palin was dealing with - up against.
DC is 100 times, 1000 times worse...if she runs and wins, I hope she’s ready for hand to hand combat as they storm the Hill...
“We have to do better than Joe Miller, Ken Buck, and Sharron Angle. They represent our values but they lose elections.”
You may have a point with Angle - but Buck was within a whisper of winning and if the CO GOP had gotten its act together in the governor’s race, I say he wins that race.
Miller has not lost - and that’s especially true if there really are 40,000 absentees to be counted.
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/129129-mondays-vote-count-in-alaska-key-for-miller
Ugh - this article is consistent with Joe Miller’s words on Saturday and inconsistent with this Politico article quoted.
Quite a difference between 8500 absentees and 40,000. Which is it Gail Fenumiai? Hey is she friends with that Director of Vital Records in HI? ;)
“Do we even still live in America, where the rule of law is supreme?”
This is an open question.
“Not sure how to interpet those numbers as they seem totally out of context to others we’ve seen. I don’t know if things have change or the writer is not understanding the process and what’s left to count.”
The Politico article of this thread is the ONLY place I’ve seen the 40,000 absentees ‘still’ to be counted. Other articles are citing what Joe Miller said on Sat. - 8500, and murk’s campaign does not seem worried. I’m starting to really wonder if the 40,000 is a TOTAL error (?) by this JournO(?)list...
“The Nov. 17th date is the last date they can be accepted for counting in the election. I’m not sure they are waiting till the last minute to count those that are arriving daily.”
I’ve not seen definitive word on this, though the murk campaign (for what it’s worth) seems to think that the remaining military ballots to come in are in the hundreds. Sure that’s in their interest to say - but somewhere in all this, are the facts.
My understanding is that Joe Miller won the Alaskan Republican primary, and Lisa Murkowski had said she would not contest the outcome. Then, some Eskimo tribal leaders, for financial and business reasons, backed her big time financially for a write in and LM was off to the races. Lisa brought home their bacon. First she broke her word, then she got the backing of those Republicans who voted for her in the first place, plus the RAT voters who would rather have her version of Republicanism than a real conservative Republican like Joe Miller. Seems very unfair to me that Republican resources went to a primary, as in Delaware, that was completely ignored when the loser candidate would not accept the outcome. Joe Miller basically is running against his own party plus the democrat party. This is also what happened with Charlie Crist in Fla and Christine O’Donnell in Delaware. I think it should come as no surprise when a candidate for office skips the primary and launches their political run within a third party. These power grabs by the established, entrenched, incumbents is ruining the process that has been relied on to give candidates a fair shake in the elections. Credit for the corruption of the primary system must also be given to the entrenched elites and self proclaimed leaders of the GOP who interfere in the primary process by trying to pick their own candidate instead of accepting one chosen by local voters. This counting of votes with what appears to be new rules about interpretation of signatures only reinforces my suspicion that Joe Miller and the voters who won him the primary are getting a raw deal. It would not have mattered who ran against Murkowski and won. This is not just about Joe Miller or his qualifications for this senate seat. It is about entrenched power and incumbents who have a sense of entitlement to a position in government that was never intended to be for life.
“How can there be 40,000 Absentee Ballots still out? I read this weekend that there were 22,000 to be counted PLUS the Overseas Military Ballots. I know there are not 18,000 Overseas Military Ballots out. In the last Prez Election only 13,000 Military Ballots went out.”
Where did you see this? Can you link it for us? The Politico article I quoted seems to be the only reference to the 40,000 - and it quotes it as coming from ‘according to the Alaska Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai.’ It also doesn’t say ‘total abs. ballots out’ or ‘potentially 40,000’ but it says ‘still have to count about 40,000’.
So who knows what to think about these numbers currently.
I think it’s in murky camp’s interests to keep these reports and numbers, well, murky, doncha know?
“O.K. SeattleBruce, give me your opinion here. Let’s say that they count 97% of the 98,000 write-in votes for Lisa Murkowski. That is a total of 95,000 votes. Joe already has 89,000 votes; right? So, he would only need a 6,000 vote differential margin out of the Absentee Ballots being left to be counted, in order to win; right?”
Joe has 87,517 currently, so would need about 7500 differential among the absentees in your scenario. Joe’s camp is also suggesting they will gain 1,000 votes today (and who knows how many all week.) If there truly are 40,000 abs. votes out there to count - they surely won’t count them all today, based on the pace they’ve been going at all week.
I’ll be happy to see deport’s links to the 22,000 absentees outstanding (before this Politico article, I’d only be operating under the understanding that there were about 8,500 absentees outstanding - as is the quote here: http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/senate-races/129129-mondays-vote-count-in-alaska-key-for-miller)
So clarifications on the number of outstanding, not counted absentees and military votes, is HUGE to where we stand.
Otherwice, imho, Joe has to win at least 75% of his challenged votes, and not have murky win any of her challenges. So much slimmer chance in that last scenario.
“Last night on Geraldo he really belittled Miller BIGTIME. I was so mad....”
What a Jerry Springer like idiot. Tell him to keep knockin’ down walls in search of Al Capone’s safe (and effects.)
“This counting of votes with what appears to be new rules about interpretation of signatures only reinforces my suspicion that Joe Miller and the voters who won him the primary are getting a raw deal. It would not have mattered who ran against Murkowski and won. This is not just about Joe Miller or his qualifications for this senate seat. It is about entrenched power and incumbents who have a sense of entitlement to a position in government that was never intended to be for life.”
Well said. Thank you.
Maybe Politico made a mistake or perhaps they want to keep interest in the story.
Somebody wrote her name in...it was necessarily the voter...lots of cheatin’ taken and taking place by murky’s crew...write in is way too high...reports of voter box stuffing....
Someone provided the link the other day that showed the number of Overseas Military Ballots mailed out in 2008. You can possibly do a Google Search. As for the 22,000 remaining Ab Ballots; bro., I don’t remember the link for that; but I truly did see it.
Geraldo is a punk. I’ve not cared for him since during the heat of the Immigration battle a year or so ago, he told Bill O’Reilly that the Illegals were our “honored guests”.
He’s just ignorant.
Thanks for posting that info.
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