It's Not Over Yet in Alaska Senate Race

Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller

/ AP Photo/Mark Thiessen

In ongoing efforts to stay in a race that many consider over, Alaska Senate candidate Joe Miller is likely to file a state lawsuit on Monday to prevent Lisa Murkowski from being certified as the winner of the three-way Alaska Senate contest, in which Murkowksi ran as a write-in candidate. Monday is Miller's deadline for filing the suit.

A federal judge ruled on Friday for a temporary injunction to halt election officials from certifying Murkowski as the winner of the race, despite the fact that the state's estimates currently have her ahead by more than 10,000 votes. But the judge  stipulated that Miller must take his case to a court by Monday if he wanted to proceed.

The Alaska Republican Party has already called on Miller to concede the race, but the Sarah Palin-backed Tea Party Republican continues to object to the ballot-counting process in this unusual election, arguing that Murkowski - who, if she wins, will be the first write-in candidate to win a major race since 1954 - had an unfair advantage.

"As the Division counted the write-in ballots, it became clear that it was implementing a discriminatory policy that gave a substantial advantage to write-in candidates," Miller's attorney Thomas Van Flein wrote in his latest filing, according to the Alaska Dispatch.

Van Flein, who also serves as Palin's attorney, continued that the process of "counting write-in votes that had been rejected by automated tally machines if the voter's intent was clear -- but not doing the same for other votes -- gave a substantial, unfair, and illegal advantage to write-in candidates such as Lisa Murkowski."

Alaska Senate Results
AP Calls Alaska Senate Race for Lisa Murkowski over Joe Miller
Is Joe Miller Trying to Disenfranchise Alaskans?

Murkowski declared victory last week, and her campaign has downplayed Miller's recent efforts to prevent a formal declaration in her favor, arguing any challenge he might mount is likely to be futile - and potentially embarrassing. "Lisa Murkowski is still beating him by a significant vote total even without the challenged votes," Kevin Sweeney, Murkowski's campaign manager, told the Alaska Dispatch in a recent interview.

"It doesn't make sense to me that he [Miller] continues to delay the inevitable. He's going to court in order to hope to lose by less votes," Sweeney said. "We're going to court in hopes that he'll lose by more."

Meanwhile, South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, who raised $5.6 million for conservative candidates this year, continues to urge activists to support Miller in his bid against Murkowski: In a letter posted on the website for his Senate Conservatives Fund, DeMint writes that "Joe Miller can win this race, but he's up against a well-financed legal team that is working for Lisa Murkowski. They will be fighting to bend the law in Alaska, which requires write-in ballots to accurately state the candidate's name."

"Joe Miller needs the help of freedom-loving Americans who recognize the importance of winning this race," the post continues, ending with a final plea for contributions to the Joe Miller Recount Fund.

It is unclear whether or not Miller seeks a recount in which all the votes, including votes for him, are specifically tallied by hand. But Alaska Elections Director Gail Fenumiai, who according to state law has the authority to determine a recount method, told the Juneau Empire that she would not opt for such an alternative.

"We do all of our recounts by machine," Fenumiai said.

---

Lucy Madison is a political reporter for CBSNews.com. You can read more of her posts here. Follow Hotsheet on Facebook and Twitter.

[mick7744]

If someone showed the photo of Miller that accompanies this article to Nancy Grace, she'd say...

"C'MON PEOPLE...HE'S GUILTY...HE DID IT...JUST TAKE A LOOK AT HIM"

[briskrecovery]

I would like to know exactly how it is and unfair ADVANTAGE to someone to have to have the electorate write in their full name instead of filling in a bubble, especially since Murkowski's name is far more difficult to spell than Miller, who, by the way, was granted the twenty or so write-in votes he was given despite the fact that state law prohibits counting write-in votes for a non write-in candidate.

Even the Republican Party is calling for Miller to concede. Come on Joe, pack it in and give it up. You lost. Face that loss like a man at least.

[Gosamigo]

Don't let the cheaters get you down. Keep up the good fight Joe - I'll be sending in a small (sorry it can't be more but the Libs have wrecked havoc on the economy) contribution to the Sen. DeMint fund.

[briskrecovery]

No one is cheating in this election. The voters have spoken, and even without the 8,000 votes Miller challenged--some of them for no reason--she is still beating him with more than 2,000 votes. He said he would concede if she was winning without the challenged votes. To prevent himself from looking like more of a fool, he should keep his word. Voter intent is clear: they don't want Joe Miller.

[documemts]

Miller...can't accept reality.

[Former_Marine_Sgt]

No kidding.

"Van Flein, who also serves as Palin's attorney, continued that the process of "counting write-in votes that had been rejected by automated tally machines if the voter's intent was clear"

Umm, Mr Attorney man - write in votes CAN'T be machine counted because the machines only read whether a dot is filled in or not. Written words like write in names are not able to be machine read under any circumstance. They are always manually counted. (You'd think an attorney would be able to rub two brain cells together to figure that one out).

[smitvict]

This guy's making Gore / Leiberman look like a couple of adults.

[jimbom121]

I wonder what part of Alaskans hav spoken he does not understand?

[Jeanne256]

Wilson sounds like a bully and a sore loser. A lot like Palin. Maybe he will be her VP pick in 2012 ? LMAO

[mikelpond]

as a tax payer from the lower 48, I hope Miller wins. It should be very entertaining to see how this tea-bagger deals with a state that is completely addicted to the Federal dole; I'll bet they run him out of the state in less than a year.

[irreverent1-2009]

Hey Alaskans!, Joe is saying your votes don't count. I think you need to take him out to the woods and teach him a little lesson in democracy.

[UForgotPoland]

Let's give Alaska back to Russia please! Not even all its oil is worth the price of keeping Palin, the back-water northern rednecks, and the drunken natives...Russia can have it all!

[briskrecovery]

Sarah Palin has very little to do with rest of Alaskans. And not everyone up here is a northern redneck or a drunk. People up here work hard for their living just like in the rest of the United States.