Oklahoma: Certified Results: Cherokee Chief Chad Smith Wins By 7 | KOTV.com

The Cherokee Nation election commission says its official count of the ballots from last weekend’s election give the victory to incumbent principal chief Chad Smith by seven votes.

The certified results released Monday afternoon in Tahlequah have Chad Smith with 7,609 votes and challenger Bill John Baker with 7,602 votes. Over the weekend, the unofficial results had Baker winning by 11 votes.

“If you recall at the close of Saturday night, at the close of the regular ballot count, I was leading. And something happened between 2 o’clock in the morning and 7 o’clock the next morning. I was trailing,” Smith said.

West Virginia: Fayetteville WV mayoral election: Feazell to demand recount | The Register-Herald

According to a Friday news release from Fayetteville mayoral candidate Thomas Feazell, he will demand a recount of the election. The initial result of the election put incumbent Jim Akers ahead by just five votes. Initially refusing to concede the election, Feazell did not pick up enough votes from challenged voters to win the race, but did narrow the gap to only three votes.

“Each and every voter in Fayetteville deserves to be certain that their vote counted and was counted correctly,” Feazell said in a statement. “That’s what I hope this recount ensures.”

Wisconsin: In work on recalls, elections chief Kevin Kennedy battles charges of partisanship | The Capital Times

Wisconsin’s non-partisan Government Accountability Board has seen its profile rise in the past several months with the pending recall elections, a statewide Supreme Court recount, redistricting and the implementation of a recently passed photo ID bill all falling under its purview.

Created through the merger of the state’s Elections and Ethics boards three years ago, the board is tasked with enforcing state elections, ethics and campaign finance laws. Lately staff members have had to navigate their duties in what director and general counsel Kevin Kennedy calls “politically charged times.”

Alaska: Joe Miller told to reimburse Alaska for election challenge | Reuters

Failed Senate candidate Joe Miller must reimburse Alaska more than $17,000 in legal fees and costs incurred during his fight to overturn Lisa Murkowski’s write-in victory, a state judge ruled on Friday.

Miller, a Tea Party favorite, beat the more moderate Murkowski in the Republican primary. But she then mounted a write-in candidacy in the general election and beat him by about 4.5 percentage points.

Miller sued to overturn the results, arguing that elections officials improperly counted write-in ballots, but was rejected by a Superior Court judge, a ruling that was upheld at the state Supreme Court.

Indiana: Recount narrows Leuthart victory in Clerk-Treasurer’s Race by one vote | The Courier-Journal

A recount of the vote in Clarksville’s Democratic Primary for Clerk-Treasurer Tuesday trimmed Bob Leuthart’s victory over incumbent Gary Hall by one vote, to 24, with 1,730 votes cast. But Hall’s lawyer, Jack Vissing, who had asked Clark County Circuit Court to order the recount of the May 3 primary, said his client will continue with his challenge of the election results.

A hearing is scheduled July 22 in circuit court on Hall’s claim that special election machines for voters with disabilities weren’t programmed properly and didn’t work on primary day, preventing an undetermined number of voters from casting ballots.

Indiana: White Again Denied Immunity for Recount Commission Testimony | 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis

Secretary of State Charlie White has lost another preliminary round ahead of a Tuesday hearing on whether he can stay in office. Marion Circuit Judge Louis Rosenberg has rejected White’s request for immunity for his testimony at a Recount Commission hearing.

White’s facing a criminal trial in August on related charges, accusing him of voting from an address he’d already moved away from. Attorney Jim Bopp says allowing prosecutors to scour his testimony before the commission leaves him with “an unconscionable choice” between mounting his best defense in the criminal case or the election case.

Moldova: Igor Dodon Refuses To Concede Defeat In Chisinau Moldova Mayoral Race | Radio Free Europe

The Communist Party contender for the key job of mayor of the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, says he will not recognize his defeat to a pro-Western candidate in the June 19 runoff election and will fight against it using “all legal means,” RFE/RL’s Moldovan Service reports.

According to preliminary results the liberal incumbent, Dorin Chirtoaca, won the race with 50.6 percent of the vote, against 49.4 percent for his Communist Party challenger Igor Dodon. But Dodon today said the difference was so narrow and the “frauds” so numerous that he and his party had no choice but to contest the result.

Ghana: Court Summons Ashaiman Electoral Commission To Produce Ballot Box | ModernGhana.com

A writ of summons at the Ashaiman Circuit Court has directed the Electoral Commission (EC) in the Ashaiman Municipality and the Ashaiman Constituency Chairman of the National Democratic Party (NDC) to produce the Naa Amui Electoral Area ballot box and the entire ballot papers of the recently ended district level elections for recounting.

The writ filled by a candidate for Naa Amui Electoral Area, Mr Nicodemus Fumey and five polling agents and his supporters, dated January 19, 2011 was to compel the Ashaiman Municipal Electoral Commission and the Constituency Chairman of the NDC to make appearance in eight days or judgement would be given in their absence.

Maryland: ‘Relax’ Robocaller’s Lawyer Argues ‘Dirty Tricks’ Are Free Speech | TPMMuckraker

A Maryland political operative behind misleading election day robocalls has a long and colorful history of political tricks so dirty that even in Baltimore political consultants “don’t want to even breathe the same air as him.” But a lawyer representing Julius Henson (who has admitted he was responsible for robocalls telling mostly Democratic voters not to bother going to the polls on Election Day) is arguing that his client’s right to free speech protects such tactics.

Henson, a Democrat, was working for former Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich (R) in his campaign against Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). The political operative has a long history in election shenanigans, much of it in the underbelly of campaigns in Baltimore and Prince George’s County.

West Virginia: West Liberty Recount Canceled | Wheeling News-Register

A scheduled recount in the mayor’s race was canceled Thursday in West Liberty, where just one vote presently separates the incumbent mayor and her challenger.

Mayor Rosie Miller said town officials learned they must first conduct an official canvass of ballots before any recounting of votes can occur. That canvass is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday.

Once the canvass is complete, candidates have 48 hours in which to call for a recount, she said.

New Jersey: Morris County New Jersey freeholder race remains in doubt as recount finds 4 Parsippany residents voted twice | Daily Record

A manual recount today of 1,605 absentee ballots reduced Morris County Republican freeholder candidate William Hank Lyon’s slim primary lead over incumbent Margaret Nordstrom to just six votes, down from last week’s tally of 10.

But the race is hardly over, as a new wrinkle has emerged in that county election workers have discovered that four Republicans registered in Parsippany voted twice, both by absentee and provisional ballots, and the state Attorney General’s Office has been asked for guidance.

Brazil: Indian Voting Machines With Paper Trails to Be Field-tested | PCWorld

India’s Election Commission plans to test in July new electronic voting machines (EVMs) that will offer a voter a verifiable paper trail, following criticism from political parties and activists that the machines could be tampered with. But it is unclear whether the paper records of the vote will be discarded or saved after the voter has checked if his vote has been properly recorded. Some local newspaper reports in April said that the paper records would be destroyed after the voter had checked his vote.

The paper records should be saved and used in a recount or if any other dispute arises, said Hari Prasad, the security researcher who along with other researchers released a video last year that they said demonstrated vulnerabilities in the EVMs.

Albania: Albania Court Orders Recount Of Contested Ballots | Eurasia Review

The Electoral College late Monday night ordered a full recount of the contested ballots in the key race for mayor of Tirana, throwing the results of the poll back into doubt. The decision came after a Socialist opposition appeal which contested several decisions by the Central Election Commission, CEC, including the one that declared the ruling party candidate the winner of the race for the municipality of Tirana.

Contested ballots are ballot papers that have been designated by at least one representative of a political party in the counting stations as irregular. It is not yet clear what effect the re-evaluation will have in the final tally for the Tirana race.

Australia: Three characters in search of a Hanson recount may be one person | The Australian

It’s got all the makings of a great thriller: the politician locked in a desperate legal battle with a mystery builder, a fake journalist and a former history teacher with a hidden agenda.

But for Pauline Hanson, this story is not likely to end as she had hoped. And it seems certain that it will not end well for the man who has allegedly assumed three identities in his bid to prompt a recount of upper house votes from the NSW election.

Yesterday, Ms Hanson’s lawyers and Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham publicly aired their concern that key witness Michael Rattner, supposed journalist Michael Wilson and Hanson supporter Sean Castle — all of whom are central to the former One Nation leader’s push for a recount of votes from the March election — are the same person.

Pennsylvania: South Greensburg PA councilwoman refuses to concede primary | Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

South Greensburg Councilwoman Linda Iezzi on Wednesday refused to concede in her race to secure one of two Democratic nominations for Westmoreland County commissioner. “I have to talk to my lawyer,” Iezzi said as she weighed a potential recount of votes cast in the May 17 primary.

The county Elections Board yesterday preliminarily certified the results of the race, declaring incumbent Commissioner Ted Kopas of Hempfield and Mt. Pleasant Mayor Gerald Lucia as winners of the Democratic primary for county commissioner. Lucia, the long-time mayor of Mt. Pleasant Borough and its fire chief, finished 74 votes ahead of Iezzi.

Pennsylvania: After Recount, Boockvar Wins Commonwealth Court Primary

Bucks County lawyer Kathryn Boockvar was confirmed as the winner of the Democratic Commonwealth Court primary on Wednesday following an automatic recount. Boockvar beat Pittsburgh attorney Barbara Behrend Ernsberger by a margin of 0.3 percent, getting 311,732 votes to Ernsberger’s 309,680. Boockvar will now face Republican and fellow Bucks County attorney Anne Covey in the general election this fall.

Pennsylvania Secretary of State Carol Aichele ordered the recount last month pursuant to Act 97 of 2004, which mandates that the votes be re-tallied whenever the margin of victory is less than 0.5 percent.

K. Kevin Murphy, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Department of State, said last month that the estimated cost of a recount is nearly $500,000, based on $50 per ballot box multiplied by 9,248 districts.

Indiana: Clarksville Indiana recount set | News and Tribune

Clark County’s Circuit Court has set a date and named a commission to recount the votes in the Democratic primary election for Clarksville’s Clerk-Treasurer.

Bob Leuthart edged out Gary Hall in the race to be the Democratic representative in November’s general election by 26 votes, receiving 880 votes to Hall’s 854 votes.

Pennsylvania: Boockvar wins Pennsylvania court Democratic primary | 21 News

A statewide recount for a Commonwealth Court seat is over, and Doylestown lawyer Kathryn Boockvar is the winner in the Democratic primary. The Department of State announced Wednesday that Boockvar won by a little more than 2,000 votes out of 621,000 cast.

The results show Boockvar defeated Pittsburgh lawyer Barbara Behrend Ernsberger by nearly the same margin that was reported in unofficial results shortly after the primary.

Nevada: Cherchio will seek recount in North Las Vegas race | ReviewJournal.com

After losing an election by a single vote in Tuesday’s tightest race, Richard Cherchio said a recount is almost a no-brainer. “We need to know everybody’s vote was counted properly,” said Cherchio, incumbent North Las Vegas City Councilman for Ward 4.

Dentist Wade Wagner defeated Cherchio, who was appointed to the seat in 2009, by a tally of 1,831 votes to 1,830. Because the race was so close, Cherchio wasn’t ready to concede.

“We’re going to look at all the ballots,” he said.

Wisconsin: Nonpartisan Government Accountability Board faces partisan charges | JSOnline

Republicans are leveling charges of bias and partisanship against a state elections and ethics agency they helped set up just four years ago with the idea of making it completely nonpartisan.

And the pressure on the Government Accountability Board could get even more intense Wednesday, as the election and ethics board decides whether to schedule recall elections for three Democratic state senators, to go along with the six it’s already set for Republicans.

Whichever way the six-member board’s decision goes, it’s likely to draw ire, and perhaps legal action, from whoever loses out.

Wisconsin: Supreme Court recount cost $520,000-plus, survey shows | madison.com

The recent recount in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg cost counties more than $500,000, an Associated Press survey found.

The AP queried election officials in all 72 counties, asking for their best cost estimates. Seventy counties reported spending a total of nearly $520,500. The actual cost was likely higher because two counties and the state didn’t provide estimates.

Waukesha County appears to have spent the most. It estimated its cost at $129,000, with more than a third of that going to pay a retired judge who oversaw the recount after the embattled county clerk recused herself.

Wisconsin: Waukesha County’s cost for Supreme Court recount: $130,000 | JSOnline

Waukesha County’s 21-day recount of the Supreme Court election results cost county taxpayers about $130,000, county officials reported Tuesday.

Waukesha County’s recount took longer than any other county in the state, in part because of the approach taken by the judge hired to run the recount and because more campaign observers were on hand and raised more concerns about ballots raised.

… The largest share of the cost – $47,000 – was for retired circuit Judge Robert Mawdsley, who was hired as temporary chairman of the Board of Canvassers after County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus recused herself.

Australia: Key witness for Pauline Hanson a no-show in election challenge | News.com.au

A key witness in Pauline Hanson’s legal challenge to the New South Wales election result has failed to show up, prompting the state’s Supreme Court to consider issuing a warrant for him to appear. The former One Nation leader ran as an Independent in the March 26 election but missed out on an Upper House seat by just 1306 votes.

She claims she was cheated out of 1200 votes that were put in a pile of blank ballots by “dodgy staff” at the NSW Electoral Commission. She is challenging the count, based on alleged email exchanges between the NSW Electoral Commission’s chief information officer Ian Brightwell and communications manager Richard Carroll.

However, the man who alerted her to the alleged emails, Michael Rattner, failed to appear in court today, and until he does his existence is in doubt. “I’ve either been cheated out of a seat or this is a very elaborate hoax,” Ms Hanson said today before attending the hearing before Justice Peter McClellan.

Florida: Miami-Dade Lobbying ban voted down, recount shows | MiamiHerald.com

It’s officially a clean sweep. After a manual recount, Miami-Dade County elections officials determined Thursday that a majority of voters rejected the charter amendment prohibiting former county politicians from returning as paid lobbyists for two years after leaving office.

The result reverses what appeared to be slim voter approval of the measure following the May 24 election. Under state law, a manual recount is held if the yes and no voters are separated by one half of one percent or less.

The final tally was 87,418 voting to approve the measure, 87,602 against.

Wisconsin: Challenger in Wisconsin court race concedes | chicagotribune.com

Wisconsin Supreme Court challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg conceded defeat on Tuesday to conservative incumbent Justice David Prosser, in a race that was widely seen as a referendum on Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s divisive legislation stripping most state workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

Kloppenburg admitted defeat after a statewide recount reaffirmed Prosser’s victory over her in the April 5 election.

“David Prosser has won the election and I have congratulated him,” Kloppenburg said in a news conference in Madison. “I will not be requesting judicial review of the results of the recount.”

Voting Blogs: Kloppenburg Concedes Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, Cites ‘Widespread Irregularities’, Says Problems Found During ‘Recount Should be Wake-Up Call’ | The Brad Blog

Citing a “cascade of irregularities”, thousands of tabulation errors discovered during the statewide “recount”, and tens of thousands of ballots found to be unverifiable or otherwise having been in violation of the secure chain of custody, Wisconsin’s independent Asst. AG JoAnne Kloppenburg conceded the Wisconsin Supreme Court Election for a 10-year term on the bench to Republican incumbent Justice David Prosser this afternoon at a press conference held in Madison.

“Over 150 ballot bags containing tens of thousands of votes were found open, unsealed or torn. Waukesha County had twice as many torn, open or unsealed bags as every other county in the state combined. In many cases, municipal clerks in Waukesha testified the bags weren’t torn when they left cities, towns and villages so the security breaches occurred sometime when the bags were in Waukesha County’s custody.”

Minnesota: GOP still owes counties for 2010 recount | Winona Daily News

Winona County and its two southern neighbors are still trying to collect money from the state Republican Party  nearly six months after party officials requested 2010 election documents for the governor’s race recount.

Winona, Fillmore and Houston counties have all sent multiple inquiries to GOP headquarters in St. Paul, seeking a combined $3,000 for staff time and copy costs related to election documents requested after Gov. Mark Dayton eked a slim victory over Republican challenger Tom Emmer last November.

Editorials: Supreme Court recount worthwhile? Our answer? Absolutely. | Appleton Post Crescent

The recount in the state Supreme Court race is done and, as expected, incumbent David Prosser is the winner over challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. Prosser held a 7,316-vote lead heading into the recount and finished with a 7,006-vote lead.

So, the question is, was the recount worthwhile? Our answer? Absolutely.

On its face, the margin after the election — about a 7,000-vote victory with about 1.5 million votes case — was close enough to make a recount a legitimate request. But the extraordinary circumstances nearly demanded a recount.

Voting Blogs: State Election Board Failed to Review Minutes from Waukesha County ‘Recount’ Before Certifying Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Results | The Brad Blog

Last Monday, May 23rd, Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (G.A.B.), the state’s top election agency, officially certified [PDF] the controversial results of the extraordinarily close April 5th statewide Supreme Court election and its subsequent “recount”.

However, as The BRAD BLOG has learned, the agency certified those results without reviewing hundreds of official exhibits documenting wholesale ballot irregularities, on-the-record objections from the attorneys of the candidate who filed for the “recount”, and thousands of pages of official transcripts and minutes documenting the entire “recount” process from the election’s most controversial county.