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Recount Underway In NY’s 23rd Race
By Staff Report
An official recount in last week’s highly visible election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District could change the outcome of that race, depending on the number of absentee military and overseas ballots cast for Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman.
Mr. Hoffman had conceded the seat to Democrat Bill Owens on election night when returns showed him trailing by over 5,335 votes. Mr. Owens was immediately sworn in as a Member of the House of Representatives and became one of the four votes necessary for passage on Saturday night of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan for universal health care. Conservative Hoffman had said he would vote against the plan.
The New York State Board of Elections sent a letter last week to the House Clerk advising that no one had yet been certified as the winner in NY-23. Now, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard, review of county returns has cut the Democrat’s margin to 3,000 with many absentee ballots still to be counted. Under a revised New York State law, military and overseas absentee ballots postmarked on or before November 2 which are received by the Board of Elections no later than November 16 must be counted.
A largely rural area along the western shore of Lake Champlain, the 23rd District includes Ft. Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division. Major elements of the Division, which has won three Unit Citations since 2001, are currently fighting in eastern Afghanistan.
A related issue has also arisen over the accuracy of initial returns from three polling places, which reported no votes cast for Conservative Hoffman. Elsewhere, the lowest vote total recorded for Mr. Hoffman in any polling place was 57. Overall, he received at least 45% of the vote cast, in initial returns.
Mr. Hoffman had conceded the seat to Democrat Bill Owens on election night when returns showed him trailing by over 5,335 votes. Mr. Owens was immediately sworn in as a Member of the House of Representatives and became one of the four votes necessary for passage on Saturday night of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s plan for universal health care. Conservative Hoffman had said he would vote against the plan.
The New York State Board of Elections sent a letter last week to the House Clerk advising that no one had yet been certified as the winner in NY-23. Now, according to the Syracuse Post-Standard, review of county returns has cut the Democrat’s margin to 3,000 with many absentee ballots still to be counted. Under a revised New York State law, military and overseas absentee ballots postmarked on or before November 2 which are received by the Board of Elections no later than November 16 must be counted.
A largely rural area along the western shore of Lake Champlain, the 23rd District includes Ft. Drum, home of the 10th Mountain Division. Major elements of the Division, which has won three Unit Citations since 2001, are currently fighting in eastern Afghanistan.
A related issue has also arisen over the accuracy of initial returns from three polling places, which reported no votes cast for Conservative Hoffman. Elsewhere, the lowest vote total recorded for Mr. Hoffman in any polling place was 57. Overall, he received at least 45% of the vote cast, in initial returns.
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