May 17, 2007

Bodack still holding out for a recount

According to this Post-Gazette article by Rich Lord:
Pittsburgh Councilman Len Bodack said today that he will await official certification of the results of Tuesday's Democratic primary before deciding whether to concede or challenge results that, unofficially, show him losing to challenger Patrick Dowd by 81 votes.
The vote was extremely close so I'm not surprised. But, correct me if I'm wrong, wouldn't a recount on the new machines simply spit back out the same totals that they did on election night? I mean there is no real paper trail to examine, right?

6 comments:

  1. How do they count absentee ballots?

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  2. I'm pretty sure the judge of elections for each polling place opens and counts them either the day before or the day of the election. Either way, there are none left to count today. The only things that can save Bodack now are provisional ballots (highly unlikely), a recount (probably won't work with machines), and challenging individual votes, which just looks bitter.

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  3. I would not put bitter past this crew. Patrick should have his own challenge list ready.

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  4. Yes, the provisional and absentee ballots are paper so there is an actual paper trail to follow there (hand recount).

    I'm betting Dowd is prepared for any challenge. His campaign was one well-oiled machine. Also, if I recall, he had many lawyers at the ready on election day itself.

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  5. Absentee ballots are counted with the regular votes at the end of the night at the polling site.

    There shouldn't be any absentee ballots to count.

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  6. I'm talking about a REcount, Matt.

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