Posted on 11/11/2010 6:47:46 AM PST by SeattleBruce
Reporting from Juneau, Alaska — The tedious scrutinizing of the more than 92,500 write-in ballots cast in the U.S. Senate race in Alaska got underway in a chilly warehouse Wednesday, with observers for Republican Joe Miller's campaign determined to challenge any variation in the spelling of rival Lisa Murkowski's name.
And judging from the multiple derivations voters attempted — Lisa Muroski, LSI Murkswke, Lisa Mvrowski, Lesa Merkesken, Lisa M., along with at least one ballot cast for Jesus Christ — there will be no shortage of opportunities for argument.
"We expect to have a recount. We expect it may go to court," Lt. Gov. Craig Campbell told reporters. "I believe the counters are doing a legitimate job of trying to determine the intent … and if it's then challenged in court, the court may be the final arbiter."
--snip--
"The law is pretty clear that it has to be filled in just as it is on the declaration of candidacy," said Randy DeSoto, Miller's spokesman. "Our concern is the Legislature, when they made the law, wanted to get away from all this confusion by making it very clear."
State officials have said they are relying on at least two court decisions that require them to determine what a voter's intent was. If it's apparent that a voter intended to vote for Murkowski, even if there is a minor misspelling, Division of Elections chief Gail Fenumiai said she was counting it as a valid vote.
"If I can't make a phonetic understanding of the name, I say no," she said.
(Excerpt) Read more at articles.latimes.com ...
What if the dot over the “i” in “Murkowski” is unclear? Is it a dot? Is it a smudge? It is, in fact, an “e?” I think you have to give a little leeway. Lisa M? No. Lisa Murkowsky? Yes.
How ‘bout just ‘Lisa’ or ‘Lizzie girl’ - should they all count? Despite the law? Hey who cares, let’s just change the rules on the fly to benefit our establishment RINO.
Come on - you know you don’t support that. Miller’s chances may be slim - but he must fight.
And voters, should they wish their vote counted - had best take care when they vote (shouldn’t that be a pre-requisite??) and learn how to spell their chosen candidates name if they wish to cast a write-in ballot.
Having DUMB voters’ votes not counted should not be my/our concern. It will teach voters to be informed and prepared when they go to vote, if their wishes are not counted because of their stupidity.
You are absolutely right. Where I live, the city/state might as well take out all yield signs (no one knows what yield means).
What is the law?
Amen!
2010 General Election Write-in Counting Instructions
2010 General Election Absentee and Questioned Ballot Count Schedule
- Tuesday, 11/9 - Early votes from Election Day and Absentee ballots
- Friday, 11/12 - Questioned ballots
- Monday, 11/15 - Absentee and/or questioned ballots
- Tuesday, 11/16 - Absentee and/or questioned ballots
- Wednesday, 11/17 - Special Advance (overseas) ballots
2010 Unofficial General Election Results
- View the November 2, 2010 General Election Results at Division of Elections web page
Election Summary Report
State of Alaska 2010 General Election US Senate Write-In
Summary For Jurisdiction Wide, All Counters, All Races
State of Alaska 2010 General Election Unofficial Results
United States Senator Write-In
CC - Challenged Counted
CNC - Challenged NOT Counted
11/10/10
17:23:51
Registered Voters 494876 - Cards Cast 19203 3.88% Num. Report Precinct 438 - Num. Reporting 84 19.18%
US SENATOR WRITE-IN Total Number of Precincts 438 Precincts Reporting 84 19.2 % Times Counted 19203/494876 3.9 % Total Votes 19203
Lisa Murkowski 17134 89.23% Murkowski (CC) 1629 8.48% Murkowski (CNC) 276 1.44% Other - Misc. Names 143 0.74% Write-In Miller, Joe 2 0.01% Write-In McAdams 1 0.01% Write-In Carter, Tim 0 0.00% More results/info at link.
>>>>Hey, I want Joe Miller to win as much as you do, but are we ready to disenfranchise somebody who wrote-in “Lisa Murkowsky”
instead of “Lisa Murkowski?”
If the law says spelling counts, the spelling counts. FOLLOW THE LAW AS IS ON THE BOOKS.
The truth of the law shall set you free.
“Lisa M? No. Lisa Murkowsky? Yes.”
Alaskan election law according to New Jersey’s TruthShallSetYouFree. Now, I wonder what that AK law says Truth? Shall we consult Alaskan law on the matter and let them decide based on that - or not?
Perhaps they’ll rule that the ‘i’ or the ‘y’ is the “spirit of the law.” But let THEM rule on it according to AK law, and let us not opine against the levying of that very election law.
How about, “the other guy.” Why not. That shows intent.
His next step was to declare write-in candidacy. The Kerry campaign went to court and secured a ruling that people were not technically voting for presidential candidates, they were voting for electors.
Thus, write-in votes for Nader would count only if all 21 names of his electors were listed correctly. Never mind that the ballots for Kerry and Bush did not list the names of all 21 of their electors-- only the presidential and vice-presidential candidates.
On one hand, Miller doesn't deserve to win when he can only garner a little over 34% in what is essentially a three-way race. On the other, you simply can't set aside election rules in place because it becomes inconvenient or is an unusual circumstance such as this.
Yes. But it’s not WE who are disenfranchising someone who couldn’t follow the law and spell Lisa Moo Cow Ski’s name correctly. That person disenfranchised themselves.
We have laws for a reason. Once you open the door to “voter intent,” there’s literally no end to it. “Intent” is a subjective thing. That’s why laws are passed in the first place—to create an orderly process. Law is essential to a civil society. It’s supposed to create a firm foundation so that everything doesn’t need to go to a judge.
If you believe minor misspellings should be counted, then pass a law that specifically defines the process. For example, you could write the law to allow one letter to be incorrect. That way, there would then be no question that “Lisa Murkowsky” is a valid vote. Those changes, of course, should only be applied to future elections.
Of course, legal anarchists will probably have their way with this election. It seems the thing to do. If someone doesn’t like a process, simply take it to a sympathetic judge to have it overturned. In the short term, Lisa will have her win. So what if she has to rape the civil society in the process, eh?
Moosecowsky and her father are malefactors..
The TPCaucus needs to grow further(there/here) and impact the primarys..
Federal money needs to be cut off for Alaska..
Murkowski ASKED FOR and RECEIVED permission to distribute a list of write-in candidates to voters, so that they could be sure to spell her name correctly.
So... my only conclusion would then be that anyone who still got it wrong was INTENTIONAL in not voting correctly for her.
New meaning to the phrase “close enough for government work.”
this one is clearly headed towards a 2 or 3 year court battle
Any name containing the letter, L, i, u or r. If that isn't enough, there's the whole rest of the alphabet.
Excellent points.
“What is the law?”
The law is that the write-in name must be spelled correctly. The ‘state officials’ as it says in the article, are using a couple of court precedents to argue for ‘voter intent.’ Sounds like the AK Supreme Court may need to make a ruling - especially if the results hang in the balance.
I'd say, "no" to both of those. What about a poorly educated person who writes his "s" backwards? What if they fail to capitalize and it becomes "lisa murkowski?" Technically, that's not "spelled correctly." Look, I'm not willing to get into hanging chad territory, but, in many cases, it's impossible to read handwriting without having to make some sort of subjective decision.
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