Posted on 11/17/2012 7:45:01 AM PST by smoothsailing
November 17, 2012
FORT PIERCE, Fla. - About 100 people milled around Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker's office Saturday morning while workers set up batteries of machines to recount eight days of early voting ballots that could effect the tight District 18 congressional race between Patrick Murphy and Allen West.
As of 9:40 a.m. on Saturday, the recount had not begun. Five Sheriff's patrol cars were parked at the entrance to the building on Okeechobee Road, where security was tight.
Saturday morning, Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker was nowhere to be seen. Friday night it was reported she had been taken to a hospital.
The decision to recount the ballots came after a state elections auditor on Friday found a box of 306 early ballots that never were counted.
The decision came hours after a St. Lucie County judge denied a request by U.S. Rep. Allen West for a full recount of early votes in the race for the 18th Congressional district.
The recount of every early vote cast for every race was expected to begin on Saturday morning and would include the three days of early voting that were retabulated earlier this week.
Tod Mowery, a member of the Canvassing Board, said the ballots -- which were found in a box -- had not been counted.
"We are pleased the Canvassing Board has done the right thing for the voters of St Lucie County by agreeing to a retabulation of early votes," said West. "All we have been fighting for since the very beginning is to ensure the citizens of this county have their votes accurately and fairly counted."
Earlier on Friday, attorneys for West argued that discrepancies in vote totals and reported equipment malfunctions warranted a recount to ensure the integrity of the race.
Attorneys for Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker and Patrick Murphy, the projected winner of the race, countered that Judge Dan Vaughn would have invited error and chaos if he had sided with West.
Vaughn said the elements for a temporary injunction had not been met.
West, the Tea Party favorite who appeared to be headed for defeat, has refused to concede.
After a partial recount of ballots cast during the final three days of early voting in St. Lucie County, Murphy, a Democrat, led West by 1,907 votes or a margin of more than 0.5% — more than what would trigger an automatic recount.
“It stands to reason that if the remaining early votes were to be recounted, additional errors would be uncovered and the tabulation of votes revised accordingly,” Allen West for Congress said in a statement.
The campaign called the recount a “sham” and said all eight days of early voting in St. Lucie County should be have been recounted.
Late Thursday, West's attorneys said they had discovered possible discrepancies in St. Lucie County after a review of early and absentee ballot information.
Nearly 1,000 votes may be in question, according to Tim Edson, Allen West for Congress campaign manager.
In a letter to Secretary of State Ken Detzner, attorneys said 110 early votes were cast in a precinct that didn’t have enough early voters to support the number of votes cast.
Four hundred eighty-eight people cast early votes in precinct 28, they said, but election returns showed 499 early votes were counted.
Attorneys also raised concerns about 121 voters they said had returned absentee ballots but did not appear to have been assigned precinct.
Earlier, volunteer attorneys for West had petitioned Detzner to conduct a preliminary investigation into the election and for a machine recount in three counties. Attorneys Mark Young and Jeffrey Scott Shapiro said 809 votes disappeared when the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections retabulated the final three days of early votes on Sunday.
Young and Shapiro said the missing votes, which accounted for 3.2% of the retabulated votes, amounted to an irregularity.
After the retabulation, West received a net increase of 535 votes over Murphy.
“On faith and belief, if this trend continues, for the remaining votes, the final outcome of the Congressional election could change,” Yound and Shapiro said.
David Drury, a Florida Division of Elections bureau chief, arrived in St. Lucie County on Wednesday to begin an audit of how the county’s canvassing board ran the election.
A spokesperson for Detzner said he expected Drury and two others from the state’s Bureau of Voting Systems Certification to remain in St. Lucie County through the weekend.
Last week, a Palm Beach County Circuit Court judge denied a request by West to impound voting machines and recount ballots.
West has less than one week left to contest the election.
Judge refuses to halt recount in West-Murphy race
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/recount-begins/nS8pG/
It’s still there, it’s just moved down the page.
In VA this year we had a relatively modest ballot: POTUS/Senate/House; 2 Constitutional Amendment questions; 3 (or was it 4) county bond issues. Our state office elections are next year, and local races are 2 years after that ... we have elections every single year, but no confusion between federal and/or state and/or local.
You’d have thought by the time taken for voters to cast their 11/6/12 ballots, that it went on for pages and pages. God forbid voters should look into the questions on the ballot before going to the voting booth and taking half an hour for what could be done in 2 minutes. Especially since they’ve been handed sample ballots by both parties and had PLENTY of time to read while waiting in line.
Judge refuses to halt early vote recount in St. Lucie County
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2012/nov/17/st-lucie-county-recount-begin-saturday-morning/
That's hopeful --
I don't think Poll Watchers have that ability. The can observe which at least in my State means they can stand side by side and look directly over the shoulder of any Poll worker. They cannot interfere or participate or become an obstruction.
Good! The magic number is 254!
ROFL........back at ya' Uncle...lol
thanks for the laugh
Now insert AUTHORITY FOR BOTH PARTIES and go with the rest of my scenario lol
I grew up in Appomattox, VA and lived/worked in Lynchburg when I got out on my own.
Here in Ohio, we had POTUS, a senator, a congressman, state representatives, county officials, 3 levies, 2 state issues, and a bunch of judges to vote on. Typical for here.
Allen West Republic · 13,472 like this
24 minutes ago ·
UPDATE ALLEN WEST RETABULATION: via Gary Angelo Galiano Things are still going pretty smooth it’s becoming a media mess though a lot of them are showing up. They’re down to just a few precincts left to count. Murphy’s clan has dwindled down to hardly nothing. Just their fleet of attorneys who got shot down twice today.
THEY MAY HAVE TOTALS BY 11PM TONIGHT
http://twitter.com/AllenWestRepub
Let us know ASAP.......GO WEST (no pun intended)
Allen West Republic · 13,486 like this
18 minutes ago ·
UPDATE ALLEN WEST BOOTS ON THE GROUND - Gary Angelo Galiano - Okay my patriot brothers and sisters were getting closer and it seems like the energy is starting to grow!!! people definitely seem a lot more excited!
The Eyes! LOL!!!
sorry to bother you, lol
Allen West Republic
4 minutes ago
okay patriots the big recount is done. Now they have to count the 304 ballots by hand that where mysteriously lost then found that if you know what I mean. That should take probably an hour but in the meantime there starting the data uploads of the memory cards
They have counted 20,000+ ballots today and tonight.
LOL.......... kinda like school days when you stuck a note on someones back saying ‘slap me’.....
Won’t be long now, they are hand counting the 304 missing then found ballots and loading memories cards for tally.
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