Count the votes in CA-44
I helped watch polls for the challenger, Bill Hedrick, in this district and witnessed the high amount of provisionals myself.
Here is an email I recieved about the race.
****
Subj: This race isn't over yet - Make sure every vote counts!
Two days after the Nov. 4 elections, a congressional race in conservative Orange County, California that was dismissed by most observers as a lock for the GOP remains unresolved. Democratic challenger Bill Hedrick is down by about 4,600 votes against 16-year incumbent Republican Ken Calvert in the 44th congressional district, but nearly 100,000 provisional and vote-by-mail absentee ballots have yet to be counted.
GOP lawyers are descending on registrars' offices in Orange and Riverside, the district's two counties, trying to influence the vote counting which began today.
Of the 200,000 Riverside County ballots to be counted, about half are from the 44th district. According to Rebecca Martine, Riverside County's chief deputy registrar, 47,000 provisional ballots represent 38,000 on paper and 9,000 electronic provisional ballots.
Calvert's team has apparently been having private conversations with the registrar's office in Riverside County, which was the last county in California to report its election results. There were numerous reports from Democratic Party officials, voters and even a poll worker in Riverside County that voters were "forced to use provisional ballots" or "denied ballots entirely" on Tuesday.





The California 4th is even closer - less than 500 votes separation at the end of election night - with the carpetbagging, Republican career politician (did I mention well-connected and funded?) McClintock (sp?) slightly ahead of grass roots Democratic candidate Charlie Brown.
This was John Doolittle's seat and moderate Democrat Brown came close in this conservative district to unseating him in 2006. Brown is also seeking funding to hire lawyers to monitor counting of absentee and provisional ballots, and for the likely re-count.
Brown was career Air Force before entering education and law enforcement since his discharge. He's a fiscal conservative, social moderate. I've known him since we graduated from high school in Iowa.
November 7, 2008 11:08 AM | Reply | Permalink
It gets me that the Repubs (even when they have less money than the Dems) always manage to have the lawyers on the ground to challenge and halt operations.
I wish we had the same.
November 7, 2008 11:29 AM | Reply | Permalink