The Alaska Senate Race – It Ain't Over Yet…
The following was just released from the Joe Miller campaign: Today the U.S. Federal District Court in Anchorage ordered the U.S. Senate race not to be certified until vital legal issues are resolved. The Court recognized serious statutory matters have been raised by Joe Miller concerning what standard of review should be used to count the write-in ballots. The Miller campaign has consistently held that the state law must be applied, as written. Its provisions could not be clearer: “A vote for a write-in candidate…shall be counted if the oval is filled in for that candidate and if the name,…
Voices from the Flats – Brad Friedman
The article below, by Brad Friedman should be required reading for every legislator and every voter in the state of Alaska. As we march closer to the end of the Alaska senate race, there are still many questions that need to be answered. The most important thing that can come from this election is not simply coming to a determination about who won this particular race. We have an opportunity to take back our elections from a system and a process that is inherently flawed, has been proven unreliable, has been shown to be vulnerable, and yet is still entrusted…
Why Joe Miller Has a Point
Something in Alaska stinks. Again. Not just an ordinary low tide smell. Not like something you’d blame on the dog. It smells like an infection. For me to plug my nose, I’d have to overlook some curious facts. I’ve written another piece like this. It was after the last election. I said it the three elections before that. In the words of baseball great Yogi Berra, it’s Déjà vu all over again! I’m writing and talking about the same thing, in what has become an even-year ritual: Alaska doesn’t count votes properly and hasn’t for years. Alaska still uses the…
Mr. Wrong is Right, and Other Strange Tales from the Alaska Senate Rabbit Hole
We should all be used to it by now. Alaska politics will turn into something far more complicated than we believed was possible. The Corrupt Bastards Club, the Ted Stevens trial, the Don Young Coconut Road fiasco, some half-term governor run amok in the Lower 48, and now this – the Alaska Senate race of 2010. It’s always interesting when you find yourself with a strange bedfellow. That happened quite a bit when Palin had the VP nomination. People who were following the race from Alaska will remember that there were local Republicans a-plenty who wrote some really great scathing…
Bad Guy v. Bad Guy in Battle for Good. Alaska’s Election Under the Magnifying Glass.
Well, goodness me. The Alaska Senate race has certainly summoned an interesting cast of, um… ‘characters’ to the far north. First, we learned that Lisa Murkowski has employed the services of a certain Ben Ginsberg for her legal team dealing with the vote count. If you haven’t heard of Benjamin Ginsberg, let me illuminate you. He was one of Bush’s attorneys working on the Florida recount in 2000. He was also one of the attorneys behind Swiftboat Veterans for Truth, the 527 group whose purpose was to assassinate the character of John Kerry. This is who’s in Lisa Murkowski’s corner….
Alaska Senate Ballot Count – Live Blog!
[If you were watching the ballot count on TV, you were treated to an endless loop of the soundtrack of Titanic. You can replicate the experience by playing the Youtube video above as you read my account of the visual experience of the day’s events. For those of you who are more concerned with the actual news events of the day, you can check out the ADN politics blog which has been frequently updated by Sean Cockerham. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to get back to my entertainment for the evening…] Woman in black pullover stares at book…
M-U-R-K-O-W-S-K-I v. The Letter of the Law – Joe Miller Sues!
One of the two Republican attorneys vying for the U.S. Senate seat in Alaska is suing. (Hint: It’s the one with the half-beard, not the one who failed the Bar exam four times) Yes, Joe Miller filed a lawsuit today, just hours before the write-in ballots are due to be counted in Juneau. What he wants, he says, is for the state to follow “the letter of the law” when determining which write-in ballots should count, and which ones should be chucked. Miller’s attorney, Thomas Van Flein, said the campaign is seeking a hearing on the matter as early as…
An Open Letter to Lisa Murkowski
By Elstun Lauesen Dear Senator Murkowski, Congratulations. You made history. You persuaded 10s of thousands of Democrats and Independents who otherwise would have voted for Scott McAdams to write you in. We will see what the final count is, but it appears that your margin is substantial and may well carry you forward for another six-year term. One of the persistent arguments that we heard from your supporters during the campaign was that you were going to be independent, because the Party leadership ‘threw you under the bus’ (though it is difficult to see how supporting the nominee of the…
The Alaska Senate Race – Round Two. Ding!
Here’s a quick update on the Alaska Senate Race for those of you still playing along at home. As it stands right now “Write-In Candidate” is 13,439 votes ahead of Joe Miller. We don’t know how many are actually for Lisa Murkowski, but we can presume it’s a large percent somewhere in the neighborhood of all of them. How many will be thrown out because of error? History tells us about 7%. What kind of spelling deviations will still be allowed? Where is the thin bright line between voter intent, and close but no cigar? What happens for people who write…