Judge Halts Certification Of Lisa Murkowski Win

[Purveyor]

Source: POLITICO

A federal judge ruled Friday in favor of Republican Joe Miller to halt the certification of the election results – at least provisionally – in his race against Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in campaign to retain her seat.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline granted a temporary injunction to stop election officials from certifying the results of the Senate race, according to the Associated Press.

However, Beistline granted the injunction as long as Miller moves his case to state court instead of federal court by Monday. Beistline reportedly said that state court is in “the best position, at least initially, to apply Alaska law and to determine who won this election.”

The results of the case, which will likely now be determined in state court, will be instrumental in determining the final results of the Senate seat – although a Miller victory is still a long shot.

Murkowski currently leads by about 10,400 votes — including about 8,100 votes that have been challenged by the Miller campaign for incorrect spelling and other reasons they believe makes the ballot questionable. Election officials have said that they planned to judge write-in votes for Murkowski based on voter intent, which means that spelling would not matter if the intent of the voter was clear.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1110/45436.html

[JI7]

1. seems like Miller just wants to disqualify a bunch of ballots

[BR_Parkway]

17. I think that's a genetically Repulican trait

[davidwparker]

20. Right. They favor the ruling class/peasant model and

don't like democracy with all that vote counting, will of the people nonsense.

[DJ13]

2. leads by about 10,400 votes — including about 8,100 votes challenged by Miller

Sounds like a fools errand.

Even if those get thrown out, he still loses.

[Ken Burch]

3. I think the issue is that, if the 8,100 votes DO get thrown out

It might make the margin narrow enough to create an automatic recount.

And, even if the recount didn't overturn Lisa's win, it would still give Miller the chance to delay Lisa's certification and swearing in for a few weeks or even, perhaps, a couple of months. Joe Miller is spiteful and vindictive enough to think that that, in and of itself, would justify fighting on.

Also, the closer the margin is, the more chance it would give for Miller to go on implying, even after conceding defeat, that Lisa somehow stole the election. And given that there are STILL 'pugs who insist that JFK stole Texas and Illinois in 1960, Joe might see this as being in the "never let anything go" tradition that the 'pugs embody.

[Kali]

4. and wouldn't that delay her vote on DADT?

didn't she say was would vote to repeal?

[Tx4obama]

6. The new session of congress doesn't start until January.

Lisa Murkowski is a current sitting senator.
Even if she had lost the election (which she hasn't) she would still be senator until the new session of congress starts in January.
She isn't going anywhere - and she will be voting on the DADT repeal since it will be voted on in December as it looks right now.

[Kali]

18. d'oh

wasn't thinking too clearly was I?

[Jackpine Radical]

21. It happens to the best of us.

And to me too.

[Brother Buzz]

9. She said she would vote for the military bill and if DADT was included, it would not hinder her vote

Subtle but significant difference.

[Tx4obama]

5. Nope. Not close enough for an automatic recount.

Murkowski grand total is 101,088 (counting the challenged and counted ones, BUT excluding the challenged and not counted ones.)

Murkowski has 92,929 'perfect ballots'
Miller has 90,760

Lisa has a 2,169 lead.

Automatic recount only kicks in when the difference is .5% (point five percent)

If Miller wants a recount he will have to cough up the money for it.

More info on the link below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/19/joe-miller-vote-count-lawsuit_n_786315.html

[Mz Pip]

19. Fine, let the

big pocket teabaggers waste their money on this one.

[awoke_in_2003]

7. republicans using "activist judges"...

"Well gee, Sgt Carter- Suprise, surprise, surprise" :)

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

8. Give it up Miller

Who do you think you are anyway? Norm Coleman?

[laconicsax]

10. Miller needs to drag this out as long as possible.

As long as the election results are contested, the Republicans have one less Senate seat.

[MiniMe]

11. Is Miller related to Norm Coleman?

[Stevepol]

12. A recount is nearly ALWAYS a good idea in America.

AK has had a lot of problems with its Diebold system. I believe they do have paper to recount; that is, they're using an optiscan system and/or perhaps a touchscreen that prints off a small, hard to read, hard to verify paper receipt that scrolls down and stays in the machine. I would be very interested to see if there was any hanky panky could be discovered in the counting of the votes.

Every time there is an actual audit or recount, it is a tiny step toward the restoration of democracy. Electronic vote counting is the great curse of American politics at present, extremely susceptible to fraud, as 95% of objective experts on the systems will say, "trivially easy" to manipulate in a hundred different ways with almost zero chance of that manipulation being discovered other than by a recount or audit.

[Tx4obama]

23. But here's the catch - that I'm sure Miller is pissed about

From ADN.com a few days ago

The Miller campaign wants the Division of Elections to recount the entire Senate race by hand, spokesman Randy DeSoto said Tuesday night.

Even subtracting all the votes counted for Murkowski but challenged by the Miller campaign, Murkowski would still be ahead by 2,247 votes. That margin appears to make Miller's lawsuit asking the courts to toss out misspelled votes irrelevant. There aren't enough misspelled votes identified for Miller to win.

But DeSoto said that the lawsuit is continuing and the campaign hopes a hand recount will pick up more Miller votes. SNIP ....

DeSoto noted the write-in ballots were reviewed by hand to see what name voters wrote in. "Given how close the vote totals are, Miller needs to be given the same opportunity of having all of his ballots inspected and counted by hand to ensure every vote cast for him is counted," DeSoto said in a written statement.

But Division of Elections Director Gail Fenumiai said the state doesn't do recounts entirely by hand. "Recounts are done using the optical scan equipment," she said in an e-mail.

http://www.adn.com/2010/11/16/1557873/murkowskis-lead-more-than-10000.html

[quaker bill]

13. This should not last long

A temp injunction to allow the case to be properly filed in the court with clear jurisdiction only prevents a ruling by default.

Either he has not challenged enough ballots to "prevail on the merits", or alternately, he has not challenged enough ballots to change the outcome, so there is no "irreparable harm" in allowing certification to proceed. Once the election is certified, the case becomes "moot".

My take is that the injunction will be quickly lifted and the matter dismissed. It is possible that a recount is triggered, but since the write-ins were all counted by hand anyway, it is unlikely the result changes.

[rbilancia]

28. BUT, let's hope it goes on as long possible. It is a GOP civil war, and there will be MORE.

[Swede Atlanta]

14. Voter intent is correct..........

I think the AK Board of Elections is using the correct standard, so-called "voter intent" to count the write-in votes. What is more essential to democracy than what the voter intended. Unfortunately Senator Murkowski's name isn't as easy as "Miller" or "Smith" but the sample ballots I have seen shown may have contained spelling mistakes but there is no doubt the voter was trying to spell Murkowski.

Joe Miller is just a teaparty loser that is angry he won't be able to go to Washington and screw things up even more than they are and will become in the new Congress. Give it up Joe. You lost. Your tricks didn't work on the voters of Alaska.

I am no supporter of Murkowski but she is arguably a hell of alot better than Miller would be with his plans to dismantle unemployment insurance, etc.

[dipsydoodle]

16. Ditto

Don't matter what we think of her politics - she won.

[mvd]

22. I never thought that a conservative Repuke would be the better choice

That's how insane the Repuke Party has become!

[herbm]

15. It may not be over but the whining has started. Teabaggers love the people unless the people ignore

them.

[Angry Dragon]

24. "man up" miller or you going to cry like weeping boner??

[gratuitous]

25. Come on Joe, FIGHT!

Would your mentor Sarah Palin quit?

Okay, bad example.

[wordpix]

26. lol

:rofl:

[rbilancia]

27. The great RePUKElican Civil War. It has only just begun. Wait until Palin run for Prez. SHE WILL !