Rep. Allen West challenger declares victory - again - after missed certification deadline

Florida Republican Rep. Allen West's Democratic challenger Patrick Murphy declared victory - again - in the tight-locked House race today after the St. Lucie County canvassing board missed its noon deadline to certify recount results, according to the Palm Beach Post.

Florida law states that if the deadline to certify final results to the state Division of Elections passes, the unofficial certified results stand. Those counts, submitted last Sunday, show Murphy ahead by 0.58 percent, just above the 0.5 percent spread that would trigger an automatic recount.

Murphy has already declared victory once, and is in Washington, D.C., for freshman orientation. In a prepared statement shortly after noon, his campaign manager Anthony Kusich said: "It is beyond time to put this campaign behind us and put the interests of the people on the Treasure Coast and Palm Beaches first."

West's campaign, though, is calling for an emergency hearing over "concerns" raised during the recount process, including 900 votes it says were cast in precinct 93, where there are only seven voters registered.

• Unofficial loss for Rep. West on day after mixed results for Tea Party
• Judge denies Rep. West's motion to impound ballots

"As usual, Murphy's people are full of garbage," West's campaign manager Tim Edson told the Post. "This is something the secretary of state and governor will have to sort out."

One day earlier, Edson had said he was encouraged by the efficiency of the recount, which began at 9:40 a.m. Saturday and went until 10 p.m. The process resumed Sunday at 8 a.m. Canvassing board member Tod Lowery said Sunday the board still had to review write-in and other questionable ballots from eight days before early voting ended.

The canvassing board agreed to recount ballots cast during the last three days of early voting after discovering some of the county's election machines had been unable to read some electronic memory cartridges. But when the elections office admitted to double-counting some ballots and ignoring others on Nov. 6, West, among a mass of legal complaints filed following Murphy's initial declaration of victory, moved that the board recount all votes cast during early voting.

[EddieWeeks]

It should be obvious that you can't buy an election when people come together for the common good and kick your raggedy out of office.

[WhereisOT]

Nutjob still hanging on to something other than "reality"..

So's since this disgrace is just 1 more uh...koch w***e...(With the help of the conservative Tea Party movement, West amassed one of the largest campaign war chests among House Republicans. His supporters include Americans for Prosperity, the conservative political advocacy group funded by the billionaire koch brothers)
Guess he thinks he is "entitled" to whatever serves him, not the People, best..

[jimbosmith2910]

make this teabagger pays for the recounts

[cntrygirl3]

Typical tea party, they don't get thrown out of office they throw people out of office, like Richard Luger.

[cydygitt2]

BERRY says: "In St. Lucie only one precinct had.."

---


I'm still trying to figure out how a congressional district like Florida's 22nd, that goes from northern Broward County to northern Palm Beach County, has ANYTHING to do with St. Lucie or Port St. Lucie.

The map is clear from this government link, says that extremist allan west WAS the representative, and I know this area well since I lived in Tequesta next to Jupiter in the early 1990s.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/FL/22

[VICTORYDEM]

The House will be a much better place without disgraced former serviceman Allen West. The people of his district have spoken and Allen is OUT!!!!

[Lindag20]

After the Army cut West a BUNCH of slack by allowing him to resign his commission in return for not court martialing him for his bad behavior, he rewards them by harassing a fellow member of Congress. Like you say, good riddance.

[cydygitt2]

mortimer replies: "liberals want to FORCE one person to help another."

---


That's no more true than you CONServatives forcing peaceful and tolerant people like Jesus, into waging WAR against others, against their will.

[WeHappyFew]

St Lucie county Precinct 33 was subdivided and Precinct 93 was invented, both use the same polling station. Why a Precinct of 382 registered voters needed to be subdivided for this election is beyond me.

[puregenius78]

According to the Saint Lucie County Supervisor of Elections there are 7 registered in Precinct 93 and 6 of them voted. You would think the propagandists of West's campaign could come up with a better number than 900.

http://www.slcelections.com/Pdf%20Docs/2012%20General/rescan/GEMS%20SOVC%20REPORT.pdf

[troutfishman]

Mortar1SG_29 replies:

I am against ANY government that wants to take property from one person by force and give it to another who did nothing to earn it. That is immoral and evil.

==================================================



So you agree we can cut all foreign aid to to Israel?

[Lindag20]

I agree and we should stop foreign aid to ALL the other countries that we hand out money to.

[cydygitt2]

How about ending the flow of money to the bloated military-industrial complex, from peaceful and tolerant Americans that don't believe we should have 300 bases around the world, and be fighting endless WARS on the other side of the world, since that is OFFENSE and not DEFENSE as Our Constitution clearly states?