John Vezina and Meg Simonian with the Begich Campaign, alongside Randy Reudrich,
Republican Party leader, waiting for the questioned ballot count
I left the Division of Elections over an hour ago and there were just small pockets of ballots to count. It looks like they finished as they posted the totals on the website and he has a lead of 3724 votes!
Here is the just-recieved email from Campaign Manager, Leslie Riddle:
Dear Friends,
What a long, strange trip it's been.
It is almost over--there aren't enough votes out there to change the outcome. Whew. We are up 3724 votes. The only thing left are straggler absentees from overseas.
THANK YOU ALL for your help, support, money, time, love, angst, legal advice, and whatever else you gave!
What's next? Planning for Senator-Elect Begich starts right away. Keep checking our website for updates. www.begich.com.
Do we still need money? Yes. We've had to send staff to watch the counts in Anchorage, Nome, Juneau, Fairbanks, and the Mat-Su. We're still employing our team of lawyers to protect us in case the R's decide to ask for a recount (yes, they can ask for it--they'd have to pay if the vote count difference is greater than .5%). You get it...we're not completely done here. www.begich.com.
Thanks everyone!
Traa laaa laa laa laa
Leslie
CONGRATULATIONS MR. MAYOR SENATOR-ELECT!
(Hint: If you want to congratulate him in person, you'll have to do it at the Anchorage Assembly Meeting, starting at 5:00 PM this evening at the Loussac Library. Mark Begich is still Mayor of Anchorage and tonight is budget night so it's a good session to attend.)
***UPDATE***WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
From Bethany Lesser at the Begich Campaign:
At this point, the majority of the total ballots have been counted. Mark Begich is up by 3,724 (Begich – 150,728, Stevens – 147,004), according to the Division of Elections. Approximately 2,500 overseas ballots remain outstanding, but Stevens would need more votes than that to change the outcome of the Alaska Senate Race.
As part of the standard process for the Division of Election’s certification process, the State Review Board is also meeting today to conduct a hand count of 40 randomly selected precincts to confirm totals from the machine counts. These precincts represent at least 5 percent of each district’s voters from the general election on Election Day. They will also hand count absentee and question ballots from 2 districts each for verification as well.
Target certification will be the week of December 1, as soon as the State Review Board has completed their review the director certifies the election.
With the margin of 3,724 votes, the likelihood of a recount has been reduced, since it would have to be paid for by the Stevens campaign. The only time there is an automatic recount is when there is a tie. If the final vote is within 0.5 percent, a recount can be requested, and the state will cover the bill. If the final vote is more than 0.5 percent (+/- 1,600), a campaign can request a recount, but would have to pay for it. A recount may be applied for within 5 days of certification, by either the defeated candidate or 10 members of the defeated candidate’s party. If a recount application is filed immediately, the Division of Elections must commence within five days of receipt of an application. A recount is done by machine in Juneau for the entire state, and would take approximately 3 – 5 days.