Posted on 12/10/2002 4:25:35 PM PST by fm1
Colo. GOP Wins House Seat in Last Race
Colorado Republican Wins House Seat in Nation's Last Undecided Race
D E N V E R, Dec. 10 — Republican Bob Beauprez won Colorado's new House seat by 121 votes Tuesday, defeating Democrat Mike Feeley after a recount wrapped up the nation's last undecided congressional race.
Beauprez had 81,789 votes and Feeley ended up with 81,668 votes. Secretary of State Donetta Davidson announced the results after clerks in three suburban Denver counties completed a recount triggered automatically by the slim margin in the race.
The announcement ended five weeks of uncertainty for the two candidates. Both went through freshman orientation for House members in Washington.
At the end of Election Day on Nov. 5, Beauprez led by 386 votes, but the three counties were ordered by a judge to count every qualified provisional ballot.
When those returns were released, Beauprez led Feeley by 122 votes. The recount cost him a single vote.
The election was Colorado's first with provisional ballots, which are cast by voters whose names are not on official registration rolls. It is up to election officials to determine whether the ballot is valid.
Feeley sued, contending election officials in the three counties were not using the same standards to decide whether the ballots were valid.
One county counted all provisional ballots whose voters were deemed qualified; the other two didn't count ballots whose voters failed to explain why they voted under special circumstances.
Denver District Judge William Robbins ruled that all the ballots cast by qualified voters should be counted.
The 7th District was created this year because of population growth and was evenly divided among Republicans, Democrats and unaffiliated voters.
Yes, but they only changed the margin by one vote (for Feely)..
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