Posted on 11/18/2012 12:24:37 PM PST by smoothsailing
November 18, 2012
James Kirley
FORT PIERCE -- Results of recounting more than 37,000 St. Lucie County ballots were announced shortly after 2 p.m. Sunday and preliminary figures given by Canvassing Board member Tod Mowery placed Jupiter Democrat Patrick Murphy farther ahead of Republican Allen West than before the two-day effort began.
Murphy campaign senior advisor Eric Johnson was quick to reaffirm victory.
"As far as we're concerned, this puts an end to it," Johnson said. "The West people demanded a recount. They got that retabulation and Patrick Murphy gained a margin of 242 votes.
""This election is over," Johnson added.
Mowery said the final count was 65,841 votes for Murphy and 52,704 for West. The results still are unofficial.
Together with votes from Martin and northern Palm Beach counties, the two other counties in District 18, Murphy's lead was still outside the 0.5 percent difference that would mandate a recount under state law.
Whether West, R-Palm Beach Gardens, will attempt further legal challenges remains an open question.
"We are still evaluating how to handle this," West campaign manager Tim Edson said. "It's a unique case."
Neither candidate was present Saturday or Sunday at the office of Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker during the recount. Nor was Walker herself, who was hospitalized Friday.
Walker's administrative assistant, Annie Clark, oversaw elections workers during the weekend effort.
"We made the noon deadline," she said.
The Murphy campaign went into this weekend's recount of more than 37,000 early votes with a 1,907 vote lead over West. That lead was 12,895 votes in St. Lucie County, but was reduced by West majorities in Martin and northern Palm Beach Counties.
Shortly after noon, the campaign of Patrick Murphy is declaring their Jupiter Democrat the winner is the District 18 congressional race, based on the thought that St. Lucie County officials did not send this weekend's recount results to state elections officials on time.
"Twelve o'oclock is the certification deadline," said Eric Johnson, senior advisor to the Murphy campaign. "When that certification deadline passes, the last results posted are the official results."
Johnson said he had consulted with a lawyer before arriving at that announcement.
However, Clark said election officials got the results to the state in time.
"We met the noon deadline," Clark said.
Marc Traum, a member of the county Canvassing Board, said he did not know whether or not results were sent to Tallahassee by noon. They had not yet been announced.
BTTT!!
- - - - - - - - - -
"They had all of the votes on six memory cards. One of them wouldn't upload, but the guy in charge Todd Mowry who knows the total recount numbers was quoted earlier as saying "Happy Days" which would indicate he knew that West had more votes.
So, the only reason they "missed the deadline" is a memory card glitch. Murphy and co. want to disenfranchise every vote on that last card. There are lots of people at that recount location screaming bloody murder at this moment."
In a split second, all someone has to do is run a magnet over the memory card and the data would be gone.
where are the military votes..and I thought something was wrong when they found more votes...who knows what year they were cast
That vote manufacturing scheme at the desk of the election supervisor is was going into overtime
However, from Article I Section 5, “Each House shall be the judge of the elections, returns, and qualifications of its own members, . . . “
If, for instance, 900 votes in a precinct with 7 registered voters (as per another post) went for Murphy, there is reason to think (yeah, I know) the GOP House would question and hopefully refuse to seat Murphy.
Also, Allen West will demand and hopefully be entitled to examine all of the votes cast in his district. He should make examples of those who participated in the fraud.
please don’t hang your hat on Bonehead seating West. Your in for a huge disappointment.
Why is it the ‘Rats always pick up votes in recounts?
I don't think that is accurate.
Tallahassee does the final certification, and I believe their deadline is Tuesday.
Also, West has the right to contest the results and/or the certification up until Nov. 30th, IIRC.
They control (or lack of) the manufacturing and the distribution of election ballots.
The House isn’t going to do a thing. It’s over. Sad.
Let’s Lift West up in our prayers FRiends. It takes guts to go against the Fed Monster, and you better bet they’re monitoring closely. We complain about the conservative’s who don’t do anything, but they have no support and are up against a monster with a 16 trillion dollar treasure chest at it’s disposal. Prayers please.
They sure made cheating easy with all the federally mandated changes to voting after the 2000 election. Imagine a system where a memory card upload can throw a whole election. Where one card can just be switched with another to change the vote. And so on. All votes should be recorded on paper and sent to the secretary of state in some hard paper form. But people so love the modern digital world. Let them die by it.
Agree. House will do nothing.
Are these individual voters identified? Mo doubt votes were added. Proving it is the hard part.
Trump should spend reward money there.
West would make a great Commander of the New Continental Army 2013.
They count the votes.
Who do you think is more likely to be in these civil gov't positions, center-right or liberals?
From this position it looks like West is on the verge of becoming the next Al Gore.
Inappropriate comment.
Well, the GOP elite has been busy as bees dissing any and all Tea Party candidates, Sarah Palin, Allen West; they’ve joined hands with the Democrats to try to pressure one of our Tea Party congressmen from Tennessee to resign his seat. (They’ve perpetuated a smear campaign against him.) He’s a doctor opposed to Obamacare; which, frankly, I think they’re probably chomping at the bit to get fully enacted.)
Sarah Palin and Allen West have been about the best star power the Republicans have had going for them. - I also fear that Fudge’s attack on McCain may only elicit an “apology” from him; hope not, but, you know how it is.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
