Voters File for Hand Recount of Anchorage Municipal Election
OK, everyone! Let’s hear it for the magnificent 10! These Anchorage voters decided to join forces, speak up and say no to this nightmare we call an election that the Election Commission seems to think is just fine. No investigation, they say. No malfeasance they say. No reckless disregard, they say. No reprimands or censures, they say. Move along apathetic public, move along.
Yesterday, 10 Anchorage voters filed a recount application with the Municipal Clerk’s Office per Title 28 of the Municipal Code.
The provision allows for ten qualified voters to file a recount application with the municipal clerk within five business days of the Election Commission adopting its report of the election results. Yesterday was the final filing day, and they did it. One of those at the filing yesterday at City Hall asked to speak with Deputy Municipal Clerk Jacqueline Duke, but was told that nobody knew where she was.
The application as submitted requests “an audit and physical hand recount of the paper ballots from the April 3, 2012 municipal election,” emphasizing that “this would entail NO USE of optical-scan voting machines, as the integrity of their vote count cannot be verified.” Because, yes, technically they can use the Diebold AccuVote system to check the veracity of the Diebold AccuVote scanner. The decision whether to machine count, or hand count rests with the Assembly. What they decide should be very telling indeed.
The 10 voters were able to raise enough money at the last minute to request a recount of 15 precincts, at $100 each, representing more than 10% of the precincts. Obviously a full audit and hand recount of all precincts is the most desirable result, and it should be noted that the Assembly CAN and SHOULD mandate this even without this request.
Also requested from the group are election materials including spoiled and blank ballots, critical to a full accounting, and other information including poll tapes.
How this will affect the scheduled vote to certify the election by the Anchorage Assembly tonight is uncertain. Some local observers maintain that the language in Title 28 will make it impossible for the Assembly to certify until after the recount is completed.
The 10 voters who signed the application and deserve our thanks are: Hal Gazaway, Barbara Gazaway, Joseph McKinnon, Zabra Kennedy, Dana Klein, Wendy Isbell, Steven McCoy, Melissa Green, Kelly Walters, and Linda Kellen Biegel.
They have added their voices to those of former Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller, and former Election Coordinator for the Municipality of Anchorage, Guadalupe Marroquin for the right of voters to have a full hand count of all paper ballots. Clearly, this issue is not partisan, and therefore we must question anyone bucking a full hand recount at this point. Everyone has cover to do the right thing – left, right, and center. So, will they do it?
Stay tuned for reports from the circus tonight. Better yet – show up, and see it live.
And, as always, you can email the entire Assembly at wwmas@muni.org
A copy of the application as filed is here —> Recount Application
I am glad to see that you all are asking for a real count of your votes. Big props to you on this.
If the assembly continues to ignore all the empirical evidence of fraudulent counts and machine manipulation by remote,then they can and probably will certify the vote as is. You can place evidence in their hands,you can’t force them to read and/or acknowledge the stain on those machines. If they just strictly follow E S &S nomenclature,they will claim full confidence in Accuvote machines. I wish you all the good karma or kismet in the universe.
Would a hand vote lead to a complete new vote? Just wondering because of those that didn’t get to vote? If so who would make that decision and would they use die bold
machines?
Thank you to the magnificent 10 so we know if we can be more confident in the outcome of future elections.
Either way, I agree with Ivan and MW That One that this election should be re-done, as we do not know just how many voters were disenfranchised.
Perhaps if doing it wrong costs real dollars and cents, the voters will pay more attention to who is palling around with whom in the election administration, and the administration will have greater incentive to make sure it gets done right.
Thank you. You are fist class patriots. If we don’t stand up for our rights at home, we squander the blood spent by our founders and our military.
I appreciate the filing, and the 10 who filed. I agree that ballots should be counted by hand. Still, too many voters did not get to vote at all. How expensive is it to have the election done over?
Two antlers up to the magnificent ten.
Not good enough ! What about all the people who were denied the opportunity to vote.
Their vote will not be re-counted.
We need to do the voting again.
Totally agree.
This ought to be real fun to watch the mental and physical gymnastics happen as they try to wiggle out of their incompetence. And won’t it be fun if a hand count shows exit polls matching ?
Now someone should check the LAW that says “the Assembly SHALL certify ANY election that is not “found to be fraud”. Does the law need to be changed?
The Assembly is free to certify the election after an independent investigation.