Congressman Joe Courtney and updates on other outstanding races.

So I am having a really good day because the race in Connecticut 2 has been called and a Concession has been made by Congress Simmons, It also the reason for the delay in posting today. I didn’t want to write until I had the news. This is particularly exciting for me because the race in CT 2nd was the first one I ever worked on and it was a crushing defeat on a personal level and it feels very good to reclaim this seat. It is also exciting because Democrats were able to take two of three Republican held seats in Connecticut, meaning it was a very clear victory for us in Connecticut. I also must convey the unfortunate news, that the race in WA 8 has been called against us. There are still runoff elections that I will be covering tomorrow, with our first official endorsements at Lasting Majority. There are also currently seven other races that have not been called. Those races are New Mexico 1, North Carolina 8, Ohio 2, Ohio 15, Wyoming At Large, Georgia 12, and Florida 13. Of most importance is the race in Florida 13. Currently the Republican Vern Buchanan has a less then 400 vote lead. There is however a massive ballot error. In by far the biggest county in the district and the only county in which our candidate Christine Jennings was victorious, has an 18% under vote on just this race, that compares to a roughly 3% in all the other counties. This is almost certainly because of a computer glitch. This election as it currently is should not be allowed to stand. We need this precedent and now that we are control of the House there is no reason to allow a travesty of this magnitude to go forward. This is the DCCC press release on the matter.

"Court Grants Jennings Campaign Request to Secure Sarasota Voting System

Recount to continue, involved parties to meet to reach agreement on state audit process

Sarasota, FL – Circuit Judge Deno Economou today granted the Christine Jennings campaign’s request to secure Sarasota County’s electronic voting system used in the 2006 General Election. While not impeding the machine or manual recounts, Judge Economou did put the state audit on hold until at least Thursday afternoon to enable the interested parties to reach agreement on the process.

“We’re pleased with Judge Economou’s decision and with the cooperation of the other parties,” said Jennings attorney Jeffrey Liggio. “We want the recount to continue and are confident that the parties will be able to reach agreement on a fair audit process that includes all sides.”

The hearing resulted in three decisions by Judge Economou:

1) The electronic voting machines, voting cartridges, electronic voting systems, instruments, and data including software and firmware used in the 2006 General Election in Sarasota County will be immediately sequestered and preserved

2) The emergency petition shall be amended to add Secretary of State Sue Cobb to enable Judge Economou to exercise jurisdiction over the Secretary of State

3) The audit originally scheduled to begin Wednesday is put on hold until at least Thursday to allow the interested parties to reach agreement on parallel testing protocol and expert involvement

“Our top priority is to protect the rights and honor the intention of the voters by ensuring a process that will provide a fair, accurate and complete counting of the intended votes,” added Liggio.

FACTS ABOUT CD 13 UNDERVOTE

Undervote rate on machine ballots in Sarasota 14.87%

(i.e. Early Vote and Election Day)

Undervote rate on paper ballots in Sarasota 2.53%

(i.e. absenee ballots)

Total undervote rate in other CD 13 counties 2.52%

(Manatee, Charlotte, DeSoto, and Hardee)"


This a race and potential precendt we can not afford to ignore.
Thanks again for reading.