North Carolina: Merrill takes District 2 challenge into court; ‘Irregularities’ charged in two more precincts | The Tribune

Christina Merrill, who first apparently won and then apparently lost the District 2 Buncombe County Commission seat in the Nov. 6 elections, has announced she will now take her case into state superior court. Merrill’s move comes after she was denied appeals of the voting results, first by the local Board of Elections, then, on Dec. 13, by the State BOE in Raleigh. Merrill has ten days from that date to lodge her appeal, which would be heard by Wake County Superior Court in Raleigh, and she says she is on track to meet the deadline to have her appeal docketed.

Voting Blogs: Statewide Recounts Remain Scarce: Zero in 2012 | FairVote

There were no statewide election recounts in 2012. This is particularly noteworthy, considering the fact 419 statewide elections took place this year. In this post-Florida 2000 political landscape, the specter of recounts continues to loom large and you will even read thoughtful people suggesting that the possibility of a recount is enough to oppose a having one-person, one-vote elections for president by national popular vote. However, when we step back and take a close look at the numbers, it becomes clear that chance of actually having to perform a recount is relatively remote. Indeed, from 2000 to 2012, 99.457% of statewide elections have been successfully held without recounts – and recounts take place consistently show minuscule changes in victory margin.

Florida: St. Lucie recount costs more than $20,000 | Palm Beach Post

Decisions by local election officials to recount all early votes cast before Nov. 6 will cost taxpayers $21,355, according to figures provided by the office of Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker. That expense includes at least $2,272 for sheriff’s deputies, who ordered spectators out of the Supervisor of Elections Office moments after A Nov. 11 recount, then stood watch over crowds of disgruntled partisans the following weekend.

California: Santa Maria Election Decided by Defective Ballots? | The Santa Barbara Independent

The difference between second and third in the race for two seats on the Santa Maria City Council was two votes. Out of 19,404 total votes, that’s spectacularly close, a statistical tie. And as fate would have it, three City of Santa Maria residents inadvertently received ballots without the city council election on them. Who knows who the voters are or if they would have made a difference — they evidently didn’t notice the problem, or at least notify election officials, who didn’t notice themselves until a closer look. But it means current Councilmember Bob Orach squeaked past Etta Waterfield for the second open seat on the council. Terri Zuniga, a Democrat who ran and lost in 2010, claimed the top spot.

Colorado: Sticker shock nixes Republican’s recount effort | Boulder Weekly

A Republican candidate for state legislature requested a recount of Boulder County’s election results last week in an effort to give election integrity activists an opportunity to examine concerns about how the election was run. But now Ellyn Hilliard, who ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Jonathan Singer for state representative from District 11, has withdrawn her request after being told by Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall’s office that the recount would cost her nearly $28,000. (Candidates requesting recounts must pay for them unless the recount is automatically triggered by margin of victory of 0.5 percent or less.)

Florida: Elections chief, in St. Lucie, says recount deadlines may be too tight for counties to meet | Palm Beach Post

Emerging from three hours with the elections supervisor of St. Lucie County on Thursday— the only county that missed the deadline for filing final election results — Secretary of State Ken Detzner said he was concerned that current deadlines may not give counties enough time to complete recounts. Detzner said he has asked his staff to research the length of time other states give their election officials to conduct recounts. St. Lucie County missed the deadline by 8 seconds, Walker said. “Clearly when there is a recount, there needs to be a reasonable amount of time,” Detzner said, acknowledging that election workers in St. Lucie worked through the night to meet the deadline and that election laws need to reflect what is humanly possible.

Montana: Secretary of State reacts to canceled recount | KTVQ.com

Montana Secretary of State and Chief Elections Officer Linda McCulloch received word from the Eleventh District Court at 3pm Tuesday that Sandy Welch was withdrawing her application for a recount of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Race. Welch trailed democrat incumbent Denise Juneau by 2231 votes after the official statewide canvass. “We are disappointed that there will not be a recount, ” said McCulloch.

Montana: Judge orders statewide recount | Daily Inter Lake

Flathead County District Court Judge Stewart Stadler ruled Friday that a statewide recount is warranted for the state Superintendent of Public Instruction race, but a state attorney told Stadler his ruling would be appealed to the Supreme Court Monday. Even though the Republican candidate in the race, Martin City resident Sandy Welch, has to pay for the recount, Friday’s proceedings turned out to be a legal skirmish involving issues beyond vote counting. Amy Eddy, a Kalispell attorney representing Democratic incumbent Denise Juneau, said Welch’s team is aiming to “disenfranchise voters” by challenging and disqualifying ballots that may be legally tainted.

New Mexico: Monday hearing set for objections to Sandoval County recount | Rio Rancho Observer

A hearing has been set for Monday to review objections by the Sandoval County attorney and a lawyer representing Democratic winners regarding two GOP challengers’ request for a ballot recount in three Rio Rancho precincts. According to court documents, Sandoval County Attorney Patrick Trujillo is objecting to the Republicans’ recount request because one candidate’s race — Paula Papponi, who ran for Sandoval County clerk, was a county race, while the other’s, David Doyle, who ran for state Senate, was a state race.

US Virgin Islands: St. Thomas Elections Board to take up complaints today | Virgin Islands Daily News

On the eve of the first Joint Board of Elections meeting since the territory’s controversial General Election, board members in the St. Thomas-St. John District were still grappling with how to respond to a laundry list of complaints from unsuccessful candidates who are seeking a recount or a new election. The St. Thomas-St. John Board intended to hold an emergency meeting Wednesday morning to address complaints from senatorial candidate Lawrence Olive, Senate At-large candidate Wilma Marsh-Monsanto, Delegate to Congress candidate Norma Pickard-Samuel and Board of Elections candidates Harriet Mercer and Diane Magras. Taken together the complaints allege almost 50 violations of local and federal elections laws.

Minnesota: With recount complete, Franson has 12-vote lead | Alexandria Echo Press

A two-day recount put Minnesota State Representative Mary Franson 12 votes ahead of Bob Cunniff, apparently sending her to a second term in the House. There are not enough ballots in question to give Cunniff the lead. The State Canvassing Board is to certify the vote Tuesday. Franson, R-Alexandria, picked up one vote Thursday during the Otter Tail County recount on Fergus Falls. Franson and Cunniff, DFL-Alexandria, each gained a vote during Wednesday’s Douglas County recount.

New Mexico: Ballot Counting Blues | Santa Fe Reporter

A few candidates in New Mexico are still waiting for the official outcome of their races, even though Election Day happened three weeks ago, and the State of New Mexico was supposed to certify the election results today. New Mexico’s State Canvassing Board—comprised of the Governor, Secretary of State, and Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court—met today at 1:30pm and approved a recommendation from Bobbi Shearer, the State’s Bureau of Election Director, that recounts occur in two races, the state be allowed to continue with its canvass, and the board reconvene on December 7 to finish certifying election results.

North Carolina: Rep. McIntyre could face second recount | The Hill

Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) could face a second recount on Wednesday when his districts finishes re-tallying the votes in his congressional race. His battle with Republican candidate David Rouzer is one of the last undecided congressional races in the country. It was McIntyre’s 655-vote lead — within a 1 percent margin — that triggered Rouzer’s call for a recount in North Carolina’s 7th district. But Don Wright, the general counsel for the state board of elections, said Rouzer can request a partial hand recount if he continues to trail after the machine recount concludes.  A hand recount of the entire district would be triggered if a discrepancy that could alter the race is found between the partial hand recount and machine recount. But Wright said most recounts don’t change the outcome of a race.

New Mexico: Secretary of State’s office needs more time to finish canvassing general election returns | The Republic

Final election results won’t be ready for Tuesday’s meeting of the state Canvassing Board, and it’s possible that recounts could be required in two tight legislative races, state officials said Monday. The secretary of state’s office is still reconciling discrepancies in some county election results, including in Sandoval County where one of the recounts may take place, New Mexico Bureau of Elections Director Bobbi Shearer said. State law requires recounts when the margin between the top candidates is less than one-half of 1 percent.

North Carolina: McIntyre extends lead by five votes in NC7 race, Duplin County remains | WECT

Rep. Mike McIntyre has extended his lead over David Rouzer by five votes, with recounts over in eleven of the twelve counties involved in the Seventh Congressional District race. The final recount in Duplin County will begin Wednesday morning. Elections officials in Johnston County tell WECT  there was no change in McIntyre’s vote total in the recount which ended around 7:30pm, but Rouzer lost seven votes from the previous total. Rouzer also lost seven votes in the recount in New Hanover County, while McIntyre picked up two. Rouzer picked up seven votes in Robeson County, where he added one vote to his total and McIntyre lost six. In Hoke County, McIntyre lost one vote and Rouzer had no change. Rouzer picked up three votes each in recounts in Columbus and Sampson counties.

North Carolina: Rep. McIntyre wins recount | The Hill

Blue Dog Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.) will serve his ninth term in Congress after his Republican opponent conceded Wednesday night following a recount that upheld initial election results. GOP candidate David Rouzer dropped out of the contest, wrapping up one of the last undecided congressional races nearly three weeks after Election Day. McIntyre’s initial lead of 655 declined by only one vote following a three-day recount.

National: Why Have There Been So Many Contested Elections? | NPR

After two weeks of dispute with St. Lucie County elections officials, Florida Rep. Allen West conceded the race for Florida’s 18th Congressional District to Democrat Patrick Murphy on Tuesday. Allen’s post-election battle was the most high-profile this year, but the phenomenon is by no means unusual. In today’s political climate, candidates don’t like to concede, even after the votes have been counted. Increasingly, they are taking their cases to the courts, says Joshua Douglas, an assistant professor of law at the University of Kentucky.

Editorials: Voting Reform: Good for the GOP, Too | NationalJournal.com

It takes a lot to get Americans and their leaders exercised about the mechanics of voting. The Florida recount in 2000 passed the threshold and prodded Congress to step up with money to upgrade equipment, databases, and procedures. Thanks to a series of Republican-sponsored state laws imposing new voting restrictions and requirements, followed by images of people waiting in seven-hour lines last week to cast a ballot, this may be another window of congressional opportunity. So far, the political leaders most publicly incensed by what happened on Nov. 6 and most energized about fixing it are from the party that won big. But Republicans should give serious thought to joining Democrats and even leading the charge. The GOP’s performance among blacks, Latinos, and women ranged from poor to abysmal, leading some in the party to say that it’s time to stop blocking meaningful immigration reform. Adding voting reform to the agenda would be another step in putting a more caring, tolerant face on a party that badly needs it.

Puerto Rico: Puerto Rico’s Fortuno Asks for Recount | Fox News

Outgoing Puerto Rican Gov. Luis Fortuño is not going down without a fight. The Republican leader of the U.S. territory is demanding a recount to the results from this month’s elections that saw him lose his gubernatorial post to Alejandro García Padilla, the Popular Democratic Pary candidate who pulled in 47.78 percent of the vote, compared with Fortuño’s 47.09 percent. “I was informed by our electoral commissioner that, with a number of write-in votes still remaining and estimated at 20,000, which are yet to be verified, counted and included, whatever the case is, the trend observed so far in the candidacy for governor indicates that, provided it continues, the point-five percent (0.5%) difference referred to in Article 10.010, quoted, will probably be reached,” Fortuño wrote in a letter to Puerto Rico’s president of the State Elections Commission, Hector Conty, according to the newspaper El Nuevo Dia.

Florida: West Concedes to Murphy | Roll Call

Florida Republican Rep. Allen B. West, one of the highest-profile and most-controversial members of the 2010 freshman class, conceded to Democrat Patrick Murphy after a nasty, brutish and long campaign. “While many questions remain unanswered, today I am announcing that I will take no further action to contest the outcome of this election,” West said in a statement Tuesday. “While a contest of the election results might have changed the vote totals, we do not have evidence that the outcome would change.” He added: “I want to congratulate my opponent, Patrick Murphy, as the new Congressman from the 18th Congressional District. I pray he will serve his constituents with honor and integrity, and put the interests of our nation before his own.”

Florida: St. Lucie County may not release final recount results | TCPalm.com

An official report of the two-day recount results might not be released to the public after the county Canvassing Board missed a state deadline to have the report certified. Annie Clark, administrative assistant for Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker, said Monday she never indicated the latest recount results would be available Monday. Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers previously reported that Clark said Sunday that the results “would not be printed for distribution until Monday at the earliest,” and that, “We met the noon deadline.” Clark, who has been filling in for Walker and oversaw the weekend recount, was unavailable for an interview and did not answer emails about those conflicting statements.

North Carolina: Rouzer Calls for Recount in Race Against McIntyre | Roll Call

Republican state Sen. David Rouzer, who trails North Carolina Rep. Mike McIntyre by 655 votes, is requesting a recount in the last House race yet to be decided after the Nov. 6 elections. “Considering this is the closest Congressional race in the country and in light of the irregularity previously found in Bladen County, which significantly reduced the vote margin at that time, I have decided to request a mandatory recount of the votes cast in the 7th Congressional District as allowed by law,” Rouzer said in a statement. “In a race this close, accidental human error could easily change the outcome. It is important to ensure that every legal vote cast is properly and accurately counted.”

Florida: West watch: no concession, no decision on challenging apparent Murphy win | Palm Beach Post

Republican U.S. Rep. Allen West has neither conceded nor committed to future challenges after final results from St. Lucie, Martin and Palm Beach counties on Sunday showed Democrat Patrick Murphy winning the congressional District 18 race by 1,904 votes or 0.58 percent. Murphy’s margin is just beyond the state’s 0.5 percent threshold for an automatic recount. And Murphy’s lead would be 242 votes larger if problem-plagued St. Lucie County hadn’t missed Sunday’s noon deadline for submitting final results after a recount of more than 37,000 ballots from early voting.

Florida: Murphy-West recount rhetoric reminiscent of Bush v. Gore in 2000 | Palm Beach Post

Every close and disputed election has its own unique set of facts, but all have two things in common: the candidate who’s behind wants to keep counting votes and the candidate who’s ahead wants the counting to stop. The Congressional District 18 race between Republican Rep. Allen West and unofficial Democratic victor Patrick Murphy is no exception. West, trailing by less than 1 percent, became the latest count-every-vote advocate after it became apparent that St. Lucie County bungled its initial tally of early votes. He pressed all last week for a full recount of more than 37,000 early ballots, finally got one Saturday, and appeared to have fallen 241 votes further behind Murphy when the exercise ended Sunday.

New Hampshire: Nothing beats a good state election recount! | Concord Monitor

Every two years, one of my favorite rituals of New Hampshire’s peculiar form of democracy is the recount. With 500 races on the ballot statewide, most of them in relatively small districts, there are dozens of races that come down to a very small number of votes. And every election, a few seats change hands once we get a closer look at the ballots. In fact, recounts in two state representative districts have already resulted in new winners.

North Carolina: Possible recount looms over Rep. Mike McIntyre in North Carolina’s 7th district | The Hill

One of the few remaining Blue Dog democrats, Rep. Mike McIntyre, is claiming a narrow victory in the 7th congressional district of North Carolina –— but still faces a possible recount. McIntyre held a 655-vote lead — 168,697 votes to 168,042 — over his Republican opponent, David Rouzer, after the final vote tally on Friday. The race has not yet been called. The margin is well within the limits to trigger an automatic recount if Rouzer chooses to seek one.

North Carolina: Coleman won’t ask for recount in Lt. Governor’s race | FayObserver.com

The trailing Democratic Party candidate for lieutenant governor said Monday she won’t seek a statewide recount, admitting that a new tally was unlikely to make up the nearly 6,900 votes she needs. And it would cost North Carolina’s 100 counties at least $1.5 million to recount. “We face the reality that an extended battle would not alter the outcome of this race,” Linda Coleman said at a news conference after conceding the outcome to Republican Dan Forest. “It was a hard-fought, spirited campaign and we have stark differences. But in the end, in a tight race, North Carolinians have chosen Mr. Forest as their next lieutenant governor.” Coleman had until today to demand a recount because her margin with Forest was less than 10,000 votes out of almost 4.4 million cast.

Florida: Murphy claims victory after recount deadline, West weighs challenge | The Hill

Democrat Patrick Murphy’s campaign is claiming victory in his race to unseat GOP Rep. Allen West (Fla.) on Sunday after a deadline for certifying results passed and a partial recount added votes to the challenger’s lead. But the West campaign says they are still evaluating whether to launch a legal challenge contesting the count. A partial recount of early ballots in St. Lucia Country showed Murphy gaining 242 votes, according to media reports. Before the partial recount of early ballots Sunday, Murphy was leading by 1,907 votes. A noon Sunday deadline, though, required officials to certify the result, leaving the Murphy camp to claim that the race was over.

Florida: West seeks hearing after Murphy camp declares victory when St. Lucie board misses noon deadline | Palm Beach Post

The St. Lucie County canvassing board has missed a noon deadline to file election results to the Division of Elections, prompting campaign officials for Patrick Murphy to declare the political newcomer the winner in the race for congressional District 18 race. Under Florida law, the final certified results were due from all of the state’s 67 supervisors of elections today. If the results do not arrive on time, the certified unofficial results submitted last Sunday stand. Those results have Murphy winning by 0.58 percent. A spread of less than 0.5 percent would have triggered an automatic recount. “Today at noon, it became clear Patrick Murphy will be officially certified as the next congressman from the 18th Congressional District,” Anthony Kusich, Murphy for Congressman campaign manager, said in a prepared statement issued around 12:40 p.m. “The voters have spoken and Patrick Murphy is once again the clear winner. It is beyond time to put this campaign behind us and put the interests of the people of the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches first.”