Update In Ny-20

Written by Tom Qualtere on Tuesday April 7, 2009

Yesterday evening, PolitickerNY reported that Democrat Scott Murphy had once again pulled ahead of Republican Jim Tedisco by 83 votes in their race to become NY-20’s next congressman. This news came after official tallies showed Jim trailing by 13, ahead by 12, stuck in a weekend tie, and then leading by 97 votes all within the past week. It’s no wonder that Tedisco political advisor Matt Dill has begun referring to this race as “a coin flip.”

In accordance with state Supreme Court Judge James Brands in Dutchess County, the re-canvassing of the district’s voting machines will continue throughout today. He also ruled that the counting of paper ballots can begin tomorrow, a move that favors the Democrats. In his words:

The whole premise of the consent decree was to ensure that those abroad who want to exercise their right to vote are not disenfranchised by an artificially short turn around time with their ballots. In order to have the votes counted in an orderly fashion, it would make sense that the canvassing of those absentee ballots other than those particularly identified should commence on April 8, 2009 rather than sit in storage for another six days.

The Albany Times Union reported today that “John Ciampoli, a lawyer for the state GOP, and James Walsh, who represents Tedisco, said it would be better to wait and count all the absentees together.” Walsh echoed the Tedisco campaign’s sentiment when he told the paper, “I don't think quick justice is good justice, and I don't think quick counting is good counting.”

Hans A. von Spakovsky has done a very commendable job detailing the potential disenfranchisement of military ballots that will no doubt turn the election around in Tedisco’s favor if counted in full.

The most recent turnaround came yesterday after Washington County’s machines were re-canvassed and ultimately gave Murphy an increase of 180 votes. Today, Dill expects Essex County’s re-canvassing to boost Tedisco by 100 votes of his own and mildly anticipates both Greene and Otsego Counties to add to Jim’s total as well.

The dramatic shifts in results thus far have been, Dill said, a result of “human error.” Typical Election Day mistakes reported to have occurred once the polls closed include: misread print-outs from the electric ballots, miscalled numbers off the receipts, misheard numbers as they were called out by poll watchers, incorrectly transcribed numbers onto the official board of elections sheet, and even illegible handwriting (i.e.: a ‘3’ could’ve been misread as an ‘8,’ etc.).

In a race with more than 150,000 votes cast, that less than 100 votes will likely determine the winner makes this one of the closest special elections in history. Both sides are obviously equipped with what Dill calls “legal dream teams…the best lawyers in the state.” All donations to the Tedisco campaign are now going straight to a so-called “Integrity Fund” to pay the attorneys’ and their research teams. Much of Tedisco’s campaign staff, including Dill, has returned to their regular roles working for Tedisco in the State Assembly, of which last Friday Jim stepped down as Minority Leader.

“It’s up to the lawyers now,” Dill concluded, “If they do their job…Jim should still be up by about 100 [votes] when this is all over.”

***UPDATE: PoitickerNY reported at 5:07 PM EST (4/7/09) that Scott Murphy's 83-vote lead, announced Monday evening, was actually the result of a "misreport" by Saratoga County election officials. Jim Tedisco is now leading his opponent once again by 17 votes.

Category: News