Recount Of New Hampshire Dem Primary Ends
Web Editor: Rhonda Erskine, Online Content Producer
Created: 1/23/2008 3:59:16 PM Updated: 1/23/2008 8:32:07 PM
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- A re-count of about 40 percent of the ballots in New Hampshire's Democratic presidential primary closely tracks the results reported on election night.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=79139
Update January 24, 2008: Brad Blog posts a letter from Dennis Kucinich to NH Secretary of State...
BLOGGED BY Brad Friedman ON 1/23/2008 8:12PM
EXCLUSIVE: Kucinich Letter Cites Miscounts in NH, Requests State Carry Out 'Complete and Accurate Recount of All Ballots'
Democratic Presidential Candidate Details 'Significant Percentage Variances,' from 4 to 10%, Discovered So Far During Hand Counts as Paid for by His Campaign
SoS Downplays Mistallies After One County Counted: No Changes 'As Far as Where the Candidates Finished'...
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5598#more-5598
One problem with the Brad Blog report is exclusion of the information provided by an AP
Boston.com news report Voter turnout in New Hampshire sets new primary record by Stephen Frothingham Associated Press Writer January 9, 2008 that the Manchester 5 clerk had noted
she still had to hand-count more than 100 ballots that were rejected by voting machines for various reasons.Manchester Ward 5 clerk Madeline Walsh reported heavy turnout.
"There was 1,961 voters reported, and based on what I can tell, that's almost double of typical primary years," she said. She still had to hand-count more than 100 ballots that were rejected by voting machines for various reasons.
In Nashua, City Clerk Paul Bergeron was projecting 55 percent to 60 percent voter turnout and expecting a record number of voters, but he wasn't sure if it would be a record for percentage turnout.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/09/voter_turnout_in_new_hampshire_sets_new_primary_record/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/08/turnout_strong_in_nh/
Somebody has to begin questioning the clerk how exactly were the voter registration sign-in sheets for that day at the polling place were able to be reconciled with potentially more votes for President than voters who showed up at the polls.
Net the Truth Online
A Brad Blog poster hopes Brad corrects:
COMMENT #11 [Permalink]
... Daisy said on 1/24/2008 @ 4:14 am PT...
Thank you for your great reporting. I was so glad to hear that Kucinich camp is pursuing the further recount.
One thing I noticed in your report:
As well, the hand counts revealed 100 fewer votes actually existed for Barack Obama, in the town of Wilton, than were actually recorded for him on the night of the election...
This mistake was a simple transcription error for the recount number (the number on the night of election was correct) and corrected at the NH recount site within a few days. Wilton has a great system of hand counting, and the people there will not be happy to see that you are indicating some big issue with their counting. I hope you correct your report.
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=5598#more-5598NH Recount Uncovers Discrepancies -- Result of Human Error Officials Say
By Kim Zetter January 22,
For your information: read carefully. It's clear some were confusing Manchester 5 and Nashua 5 as having the same exact problem, giving rise to conspiracy charges, but a careful reading of news items during the recount always showed the two wards "error" were different, puzzling, but different.
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/01/nh-recount-unco.html
http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/01/nh-recount-unco.html
Update January 23, 2008: The recount of Democrat Party Primary ballots reportedly has stopped.
EIN news
Recount of N.H. Dem primary ends 23 Jan 2008 22:53
http://www.einnews.com/newhampshire/
According to the
Brad Blog, 'Funds Ran Out': Kucinich Hand Count Stops in NH;
The blog leads to the New Hampshire Sec. of State site which headlines:
THE KUCINICH RECOUNT STOPPED THIS MORNING (JAN. 23, 2008) BECAUSE FUNDS RAN OUT.Further review of the Sec. of State page shows:
Towns that do not reflect recount numbers have not been recounted.http://www.sos.nh.gov/recountresults.htm
It's more likely Kucinich didn't continue on with the New Hampshire recount of some 290,000 ballots and give up more of his funds because he has come to believe there are no proven irregularities...
in the one county which underwent the recount, Hillsborough, there are puzzling discrepancies in two wards, Manchester 5 and Nashua 5, which remain the focus of our post.
Note:
State begins tedious process of primary recount
Published: Thursday, January 17, 2008
By ALBERT McKEON Telegraph Staff
Twenty-seven minutes later, Secretary of State William Gardner opened the first box, sealed a week ago in the Queen City’s Ward 3 – to start a potential recount of the estimated 290,000 ballots cast in New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary.
Presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, who won about 1 percent of the Democratic primary vote, has so far paid to have the ballots of Hillsborough and Rockingham counties recounted. But if the Ohio congressman believes the recount reveals any irregularities, he could request a full recount of all 10 counties.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080117/NEWS08/792921386
Long lines, use of absentee ballots as paper ballots at the polling place, what all went on in New Hampshire?
The following is for informational purposes.
We're focusing on two wards: Hillsborough County
http://www.sos.nh.gov/recounthills.htm
Manchester 5 and Nashua 5.
Check the Votes charts Democrat Primary Results and Recount
http://checkthevotes.com/primary_dem_New_Hampshire-recount
http://checkthevotes.com/primary_dem_New_Hampshire-summary
Manchester 5Manchester Ward 5 voters who voted ? 1,961 1466 dem votes reported initially, 1314 dem votes after recount
from BBV poster "sample ballots" Manchester NH
http://www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/CLK/elections/sampleballots.html#pageanchor5
Manchester Ward 5 1466
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/1/10/1578/71388/783/434511
Confused? Who wouldn't be with same day voter registration at the polling place?
Same day registration in polling place...
http://www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/CLK/Elections/Register.html
Search results
http://www.google.com/search?q=manchester+ward+5+new+hampshire+voter+registration&hl=en&pwst=1&start=10&sa=N
NH Sec. of State
http://www.sos.nh.gov/
Recount results
http://www.sos.nh.gov/recountresults.htm
Manchester, for example, New Hampshire's most populous city, is largely working class and uses machines at its 12 polling stations. ..
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080112/NEWS08/660888229
The scene: Lines were long, ballots ran short
By JOHN WHITSON
New Hampshire Union Leader Staff
Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2008
Lines formed early, remained solid throughout the warm, sunny day, and late arrivals had to be turned away.
It was an historic presidential primary vote in New Hampshire, as a record number of residents - nearly 500,000 - cast ballots.
"The turnout reports throughout the state have been very, very heavy," said Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlon.
Sixty-four percent of registered voters in Manchester came out, with the unofficial citywide count at 36,241.
"I know we have to have hit a record turnout for a primary," said City Clerk Carol Johnson.
Turnout was heaviest in Ward 3 at 78 percent; lightest in Wards 5, 11 and 12 at about 56 percent.
City election workers at tables set up to handle same-day registration rarely got a breather.
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=The+scene%3A+Lines+were+long%2C+ballots+ran+short&articleId=c1cc38b9-7d39-46d5-b177-b071f306bd16
Voter turnout in New Hampshire sets new primary record
Email|Print| Text size – + By Stephen Frothingham
Associated Press Writer / January 9, 2008
...He also predicted a record for voters registering at the polls, which has been allowed in New Hampshire for the last three primaries.
While some election officials had to hustle to find or copy blank ballots, no significant delays were reported. Voting officials in several towns briefly ran out of ballots and substituted unused absentee ballots or photocopied ballots.
Voting officials in several towns briefly ran out of ballots and substituted unused absentee ballots or photocopied ballots...
...Voting was strong in the state's two largest cities.
"It's a very busy day. I think it's going to be a high turnout," Manchester City Clerk Carol Johnson said.
Manchester Ward 5 clerk Madeline Walsh reported heavy turnout.
"There was 1,961 voters reported, and based on what I can tell, that's almost double of typical primary years," she said. She still had to hand-count more than 100 ballots that were rejected by voting machines for various reasons.
In Nashua, City Clerk Paul Bergeron was projecting 55 percent to 60 percent voter turnout and expecting a record number of voters, but he wasn't sure if it would be a record for percentage turnout.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/09/voter_turnout_in_new_hampshire_sets_new_primary_record/
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/01/08/turnout_strong_in_nh/
Primary recount continues with minor changes
By TOM FAHEY
State House Bureau Chief
Friday, Jan. 18, 2008
The widest variations so far were in Manchester's Ward 5. Vote counters there mistakenly transposed write-in votes for vice president as votes for presidential candidate. As a result, all major candidates lost votes. Kucinich lost three in the ward and has a total of 20 votes there. Hillary Clinton lost 64 with a new total of 619; John Edwards lost 38 and has 217 votes; Barack Obama lost 39 and has 365, and Bill Richardson lost seven, leaving him 39...
http://unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Primary+recount+continues+with+minor+changes&articleId=ad21f73a-f6e4-4f50-864c-2e417e08cdf6
Human Error, Not Machine, Found During Recount
Ward 5 Clerk Adds Vice Presidential Votes To Presidential Total
POSTED: 4:22 pm EST January 18, 2008
The one major exception has been Ward 5 in Manchester, where votes for all the major candidates dropped significantly after the recount. Clinton's total went from 683 to 619, Obama's went from 404 to 365, and other candidates saw similar drops.
But state officials said the problem wasn't with the machine that did the counting. The disparity appeared when the ward clerk filling out the official tally sheet accidentally added vice presidential votes to the presidential votes.
The New Hampshire ballot allows voters to also vote for a vice president, and some wrote in a presidential candidate's name in that spot. When the clerk was carrying the totals over from the columns, the votes were accidentally added to the presidential votes.
It was a human error, and the machine count was right, but that hasn't stopped hundreds of people from e-mailing the secretary of state calling him a "liar," calling the process a "sham," and threatening to have Gardner arrested by federal officials for rigging the outcome.
"It's unusual, to say the least," Gardner said.
No town clerk has raised any allegations of problems with the vote count...
http://www.wmur.com/politics/15087001/detail.html
Manchester NH opti-scan ballot
http://www.manchesternh.gov/CityGov/CLK/elections/sampleballots.html#pageanchor5
Food for thought opinion
And the Score Is - Machine 2, Human 0
By Patricia L Johnson
http://ezinearticles.com/?And-the-Score-Is---Machine-2,-Human-0&id=936577
Nashua 5Human error in Nashua Ward 5 resulted in extra numbers
Published: Saturday, January 19, 2008
By KEVIN LANDRIGAN Telegraph Staff
CONCORD – Errors hand counting ballots in Nashua's Ward 5 on primary day inflated the totals of three Democratic presidential candidates by 110 votes, a recount revealed Friday.
City Clerk Paul Bergeron confirmed the mistakes that awarded primary winner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of N.Y. (75), former Sen. John Edwards of N.C. (34), and Sen. Joe Biden of Del. (1) more votes than they were entitled to. Biden dropped out of the race Jan. 3.
"There were two human errors that occurred. These things happen especially at the end of a 16-hour day with a record number of ballots cast. That's why we have people checking each other's work,'' Bergeron said during a telephone interview.
The initial mistake in Nashua was the election officials in Ward 5 failed to understand that automated voting machines accurately count a vote for president even if someone writes in a name for vice president.
"The machine counts the presidential vote correctly, but then shifts those ballots to a separate place so write-ins for vice president can be tallied up by hand,'' Bergeron explained."In Ward 5, they failed to realize that. They added those presidential votes to the machine total which is why those three candidate vote totals reported that night were too high.''
The second error was on the final form reporting the total vote. These additional votes were incorrectly given to candidates on the left-hand side of the form but not to those on the right-hand side of the official paper.
That's why there were no additions for candidates such as runner-up Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., or fourth-place finisher, Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.
The actual recount of all ballots in Nashua Ward 5 adjusted totals up or down slightly for several candidates.Here are the vote totals for the ward reported on Jan. 8 and the recounted vote for each candidate:
• -Clinton: 1,030 on Jan. 8; 959 after the recount;
• -Edwards: 405 on Jan. 8; 377 after the recount;
• -Obama: 673 on Jan. 8; 678 after the recount;
• -Richardson: 72 on Jan. 8; 69 after the recount;
• -Dennis Kucinich of Ohio: 8 on Jan. 8; 8 after the recount.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080119/NEWS08/267211607/0/news
Results largely the same after recount
Published: Tuesday, January 22, 2008
By DAVID BROOKS Telegraph Staff
After a week of recounting thousands of ballots in Concord, here's what changed in the Nashua area for the major Democratic candidates:
...As reported in The Telegraph on Saturday, the biggest local change from the recount came about in Nashua's Ward 5, which voted at New Searles School. The three top Democratic challengers lost a total of 110 votes in that ward because some election officials mistakenly included presidential votes that had been cast in the vice presidential column.
A similar error occurred in Manchester's Ward 5.
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080122/NEWS08/572585355/-1/news20
Re-count Of Primary Ballots Catches Human Error In Nashua, Amounts To 110 Votes Counted Twice
A re-count of ballots cast in Nashua's Ward 5 show that Hillary Clinton, John Edwards and Joe Biden received a total of 110 votes less than originally reported because of human error. When someone writes in a name for vice president, a machine counts the presidential vote correctly but then sets those ballots aside so the write-ins can be tallied by hand. Election officials didn't realize that the presidential votes already were counted so they counted them twice.
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=78902
Human error in Nashua Ward 5 resulted in extra numbers Published: Saturday, January 19, 2008
By KEVIN LANDRIGAN Telegraph Staff
CONCORD – Errors hand counting ballots in Nashua's Ward 5 on primary day inflated the totals of three Democratic presidential candidates by 110 votes, a recount revealed Friday.
City Clerk Paul Bergeron confirmed the mistakes that awarded primary winner, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of N.Y. (75), former Sen. John Edwards of N.C. (34), and Sen. Joe Biden of Del. (1) more votes than they were entitled to. Biden dropped out of the race Jan. 3.
"There were two human errors that occurred. These things happen especially at the end of a 16-hour day with a record number of ballots cast. That's why we have people checking each other's work,'' Bergeron said during a telephone interview.
The initial mistake in Nashua was the election officials in Ward 5 failed to understand that automated voting machines accurately count a vote for president even if someone writes in a name for vice president.
"The machine counts the presidential vote correctly, but then shifts those ballots to a separate place so write-ins for vice president can be tallied up by hand,'' Bergeron explained."In Ward 5, they failed to realize that. They added those presidential votes to the machine total which is why those three candidate vote totals reported that night were too high.''
The second error was on the final form reporting the total vote. These additional votes were incorrectly given to candidates on the left-hand side of the form but not to those on the right-hand side of the official paper.
That's why there were no additions for candidates such as runner-up Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., or fourth-place finisher, Gov. Bill Richardson, D-N.M.
The actual recount of all ballots in Nashua Ward 5 adjusted totals up or down slightly for several candidates.Here are the vote totals for the ward reported on Jan. 8 and the recounted vote for each candidate:
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080119/NEWS08/267211 607/-1/news08
Accu-Vote Counties
http://www.sos.nh.gov/voting%20machines2006.htm
What led to the entire NH dispute were accusations making the rounds of the internet
Vote counts for Clinton/Obama exchanged in New Hampshire
http://digg.com/2008_us_elections/Vote_counts_for_Clinton_Obama_exchanged_in_New_Hampshire
Blue Hampshire follows activists' statements, statements attributed to them, re-count in New Hampshire...
http://www.bluehampshire.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=3330
Dennis Kucinich called for a recount on the Democratic Party side, while what's his name on the Republican side who got 44 votes called for that party's recount.
See previous posts
New Hampshire Recount paper Ballots
http://netthetruthonline.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-hampshire-recount-paper-ballots.html
Days afterwards, came along this Statistical analysis
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~wmebane/
Assessing partisan bias in voting technology: The case of the 2004 New Hampshire recount
Michael C. Herrona, and Jonathan Wandb,
aDepartment of Government, Dartmouth College, 6108 Silsby Hall, Hanover, NH 03755-3547, USA
bDepartment of Political Science, Stanford University. Encina Hall, 308 West. Stanford, CA 94305-6044, USA
Available online 26 May 2006.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6V9P-4K1X5BF-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=922548d4dcf0ec8e6c4d92be03ceb93b
Food for thought
Lunixarchduke My guess is that a batch of ballots was run through the counting machine twice during the original count. 64 (Clinton) + 39 (Obama) + 38 (Edwards) + 7 (Richardson) + 3 (Kucinich) = 151 ballots is a reasonable batch size.
http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2738237&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=4
It was Karl Rove in the flying saucer with the ray gun.
Problem solved!
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953799/posts
