Today netroots hero Larry Kissell
asked for a recount. When I left the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections at 10:00 pm EST, Larry was down 339 votes district wide, so that's the all-but-final pre-recount number.
Many people have asked how they can help. This is a link to the recount fund. Or help Larry pay off his $45,000 in campaign debt (that's more than a teacher in Biscoe makes in a year). If you can't contribute, I'm sure Larry would simply ask for your prayers. If that's not personal enough for you, you can send your support by calling 1-877- 4 KISSELL (1-877-454-7735).
What about the recount process itself? It will run Monday through Wednesday, after which there will undoubtedly be a hand recount (because, if Larry is up after the recount, Hayes will give no quarter, and Larry wants a hand recount because 9 of the 10 counties in the 8th use optical scan ballots). The hand recount starts in a randomly selected 3% of precincts; Larry would need to gain 2-3 votes average in each of these precincts to initiate a district-wide hand recount. I'll be happy to answer any other questions.
Question and Answer
1.
Is that it for the provisionals?
A: There are some provisional ballots that are still in limbo. Most of them would probably help Larry, but for the most part, the provisional phase is over. We haven't given up on getting some of the outstanding provisionals, however.