Here's a recent one on Alabama.
Recount Law Advocated As Part Of Election Law Changes
Certified Votes Show Riley Wins By 3,120
POSTED: 5:31 p.m. CST November 20, 2002
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- State officials met Wednesday to complete the official tally from the Nov. 5 election, but that's not the last word because Democrats and Republicans hope the disputed election will prompt a complete review of Alabama's election laws.
"The voters want to see the system reformed. I think they are right. It ought to be reformed," Republican Attorney General Bill Pryor said.
Pryor joined Republican Secretary of State Jim Bennett and Ted Hosp, legal adviser to Democratic Gov. Don Siegelman, to sign the official canvass of the statewide returns from the election Nov. 5.
The results showed Republican Bob Riley with 672,225 votes and Siegelman with 669,105, a difference of 3,120. Libertarian John Sophocleus got 23,272 votes and write-in candidates got 2,451.
That was not the closest race. For secretary of state, Democrat Nancy Worley polled 632,852 and Republican Dave Thomas received 630,863, a difference of 1,989. Libertarian Mark Bodenhausen trailed with 25,386, and write-in candidates received 1,179.
Pryor said his office had received some complaints about potential criminal wrongdoing in the election, but none of it would be big enough to affect the outcome of any close races.
Pryor, who was re-elected, and Bennett, who is retiring, said they hope the close races and the dispute over the governor's race will prompt the Legislature to rewrite Alabama's election laws, which they described as a patchwork that sometimes doesn't fit together well.
"I think we need a comprehensive reform of the Alabama election code. It ought to include a fair, efficient, uniform recount in every close election," Pryor said.
Siegelman tried to get a county-by-county recount in the governor's race, but he didn't succeed after Pryor issued an opinion saying that sealed ballots could be opened for only limited reasons, and Siegelman's recount request was not one of them.
Pryor declined to specify what he would like to see in recount legislation because he said it must be designed in a bipartisan effort or it will never win legislative approval.
Bennett said a comprehensive rewrite of Alabama's election laws ought to include issues that have been discussed for years, such as requiring voters to show identification at the polls, restricting money transfer between political action committees, and cracking down on campaign ads that contain lies.
Pryor and Bennett aren't the only ones talking about studying election laws.
Worley, who will become the state's chief election official in January, said a "top to bottom" review is needed.
State Democratic Party Chairman Redding Pitt said Siegelman's efforts to get a recount show that Alabama needs a simple, clear recount law.
Riley spokesman David Azbell said the new governor will make election laws a priority, and he will support a recount law if it is part of a comprehensive election package and it includes safeguards against voter fraud when the sealed ballots are opened.
"Alabama has a long and storied history of voter fraud," Azbell said.
In Riley's "Plan for Change" platform, he advocates many things that should be in an election law package, including passing a voter ID law, requiring voters casting absentee ballots to include the last four digits from their Social Security number as a safeguard against fraud, increasing the penalties for voter fraud, and having poll workers from both political parties at each polling site.
http://www.nbc13.com/news/1798001/detail.html