A Spork in the Drawer

Nearly Over?

Via Greg Sargent,the Richmond Times-Herald reports:

A senior advisor to George Allen's Senate campaign said Allen would wait until after the vote is official later this month to decide whether to seek a recount.

Ed Gillespie said Jim Webb was leading Allen by about 7,000 votes this morning, or about .3 percent of the total votes cast. He said that could change during the official canvas that is starting today in localities around the state. He said it is likely some vote totals will change as mistakes in tabulating totals are discovered.

"No one is more interested in the outcome of this race in Virginia than are members of the Allen campaign," Gillespie said during a news conference outside Republican headquarters in Richmond.

The canvas could take the rest of the week. The results won't be officials until they are certified on Nov. 27. "This process is required by law," Gillespie said.

"We'll want to see how the canvassing turns out" before deciding on whether to ask for a recount, he said.

Macacawitz, we hardly knew ye.

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It Still Isn't Over

In Virginia:

Virginia’s election laws allow an apparent loser to request a recount if a contest’s margin is less than 1 percent — and the margin in the preliminary results of the state’s Senate election stood this morning at about one-third of 1 percent.

While a recount seems likely, though, if it comes it will not come quickly.

According to a statement issued this month by the state’s Board of Elections, no request for a recount may be filed until the vote is certified, which is scheduled to happen this year on Nov. 27th.

After certification, a losing candidate has 10 days to file a recount request in the state courts. The petition will be considered by a panel made up of the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court in Richmond and two judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court. Those judges then set out guidelines for conducting the recount.

So it'll be well into December before we know who controls the Senate. And Montana is still out but Tester has a slim lead.

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Your Republican Party

[Bumped: Two updates.]

George "Me, a Jew?" Allen staffers beat up critic.

(Video at link.)

I'm afraid it's only going to get worse over the next week.

[Via kos.]

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UPDATE: kos reminds us of what Allen's sister has to say:

"Ever since my brother George held me over the railing at Niagara Falls, I've had a fear of heights." [Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter, page 43]

"We all obeyed George. If we didn't, we knew he would kill us. Once, when Bruce refused to go to bed, George hurled him through a sliding glass door. Another time, when Gregory refused to go to bed, George tackled him and broke his collarbone. Another time, when I refused to go to bed, George dragged me up the stairs by my hair." [Fifth Quarter: The Scrimmage of a Football Coach's Daughter, page 22]

And let's not forget Pennsylvania Republican Congressman Don "Mistress Strangler" Sherword. The Republicans are fun people. I guess "Abstinence for Adults" is a desperate attempt by Republicans to protect themselves from themselves.

UPDATE II: Video:

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That Tears It

Oh, the upcoming electins are going the be fun:

Election officials attribute the mistake to an increase in the type size on the ballot. Although the larger type is easier to read, it also unintentionally shortens the longer names on the summary page of the ballot.

Thus, Democratic candidate Webb will appear with his first name and nickname only -- or "James H. 'Jim' " -- on summary pages in Alexandria, Falls Church and Charlottesville, the only jurisdictions in Virginia that use balloting machines manufactured by Hart InterCivic of Austin.

"We're not happy about it," Webb spokeswoman Kristian Denny Todd said last night, adding that the campaign learned about the problem a week ago and has since been in touch with state election officials. "I don't think it can be remedied by Election Day. Obviously, that's a concern."

Every candidate on Alexandria's summary page has been affected in some way by the glitch. Even if candidates' full names appear, as is the case with Webb's Republican opponent, incumbent Sen. George F. Allen, their party affiliations have been cut off.

Get. Rid. Of. The. Fucking. Machines.

[Via Trapper John.]

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