News stories tagged with "voting"

(11/25/09) Conservative Doug Hoffman will not challenge the results of the 23rd district's recent special election for Congress. Democrat Bill Owens won the race and was sworn into the House of Representatives after Hoffman's concession on election night. But last week, when thousands of absentee ballots remained uncounted, Hoffman thought he could still win the race. He also voiced some frustration over election night results that pointed to a large margin of victory for Owens. As the gap began to narrow, Hoffman issued a fundraising letter that accused ACORN, unions, and Democrats of vote tampering. His campaign has not yet offered any evidence. Hoffman did gain on his Democratic rival, but yesterday's certified tallies from election boards across the district show Owens won the race by more than 3,500 votes. Jonathan Brown has more.

(11/20/09) The counting of absentee ballots continues in the 23rd Congressional district. As of Thursday afternoon, the Watertown Daily Times reported Conservative Doug Hoffman had gained 331 votes on Democrat Bill Owens with 48% of absentee ballots counted. Hoffman still trailed by 2,845 votes. The vote count was overshadowed by accusations of vote tampering made as a part of a fundraising appeal on Doug Hoffman's website. No evidence was provided. But a Hoffman spokesman singled out "two eastern counties" in the district. Election officials across the region say bipartisan checks and balances are in place to prevent tampering. None believes Hoffman has a case. David Sommerstein reports.

(11/13/09) The North Country special election that captured national attention isn't over yet. Bill Owens has been sworn in as the first Democrat to represent the district since the 1850s. But his election night lead over Conservative Doug Hoffman has been trimmed to just over 3,000 votes of more than 140,000 cast. There are still absentee ballots to count. But as David Sommerstein reports, a Hoffman comeback appears unlikely. more

(10/24/08) A number of news organizations are reporting that thousands of people in the North Country are being purged from voter rolls. Martha Foley has more.

(01/25/08) The State Board of Elections, after a two-day meeting, has finally decided on new voting machines for New York. They will be optical scan models, using paper ballots. The Board decided against using touch screen machines. Karen DeWitt reports.

(03/26/07) America's political culture has a deep impact on the lives of young people, from the war in Iraq to education policy to health care. But it's tough convincing young Americans that voting and civic involvement really matter. Sue Halpern is a journalist and writer in the North Country who took on that challenge. Her "The Face of Democracy" project is designed to connect students with the ritual of voting. An exhibit from the project is on display this week at the Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek. A group of her students will gather for a reception tomorrow evening. Halpern spoke about "Face of Democracy" with Brian Mann.

(11/07/06) David Sommerstein goes to vote at the Pierrepont town hall. Built in the 1850s, it used to double as a one-room gym where basketball and volleyball games were legendary.

(08/31/06) A voting rights is accusing the State Board of Elections of withholding technical data that they say could show whether new voting machines are accurate or not. Karen DeWitt reports.

(08/29/06) A new report finds that one of the two types of voting systems that the New York State Board of Elections is considering is the most prone to errors of any type of voting machine in the nation. Karen DeWitt reports.

(03/02/06) The Federal Justice Department is suing New York State over its failure to comply with voting law changes that would have required the state to buy brand new voting machines in time for the fall elections. Karen DeWitt reports.