from AP, via HuffPost:
JUNEAU, Alaska — Election workers will begin scrutinizing tens of thousands of ballots in the Alaska Senate race on Wednesday in a scene reminiscent of the 2000 Florida recount. There will be no hanging chads this time around – just lots of scribbled names.
The vote count could help determine whether Sen. Lisa Murkowski wins re-election as a write-in candidate – or whether the courts get the final say in what has been a fiercely contested race.
Murkowski waged an aggressive write-in campaign after losing the GOP primary to the Sarah Palin-backed candidate Joe Miller. Write-ins held an overall lead of 11,557 Tuesday, when early-cast and some absentee ballots were added to the election night count. It remains unclear how many of those write-ins were for Murkowski or for the 159 other write-in candidates.
....(snip)....
Under state law, the write-in oval must be filled in and either a candidate's last name or the name as it appears on her candidacy declaration has to be written in. Miller's attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said he intends to hold the state to that standard.
Election officials made clear Monday that they will use discretion in determining voter intent where the written name "appears to be a variation or misspelling" of Murkowski or Lisa Murkowski. Van Flein called that practice unacceptable.
Van Flein filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a federal judge to uphold that law. He's seeking a Wednesday hearing. A spokesman for the Alaska Division of Law had no immediate comment. ..........(more)
The complete piece is at:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/09/murkowski-writein-count-m_n_781346.html
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