Allen West isn't giving up his Congressional seat until every vote is counted properly and for good reason. West has described his refusal to concede a matter of preserving the democratic process and believes many mistakes have been made in counting ballots cast in his race against Democrat Patrick Murphy. Now, Florida Election Supervisor Gertrude Walker agrees with him and his supporters.
But West’s supporters aren’t the only ones frustrated with the St. Lucie County elections board and its supervisor, Gertrude Walker. The Florida secretary of state’s office announced this week that it is launching an audit of the county’s vote-tabulating process, saying that it was “concerned” about the results. A report was expected to be completed as soon as Friday.
And even Walker has confessed her department made errors. In a news conference, she said officials had shown “too much haste” in trying to get complete results to the public on election night and that “mistakes were made.” She also acknowledged there was an initial problem in feeding voting machine memory cards though the office’s tabulating system.
The next legal step will come Friday, when a court was expected to hear a motion from West’s lawyers asking that St. Lucie County, where Murphy has built a sizable lead, be prevented from certifying its results. The congressman’s lawyers have asked for six days of early balloting to be retallied.
Tim Edson, West’s campaign manager, said the congressman was prepared to wage an extensive fight. Should the motion fail, Murphy could be certified as the winner as soon as Sunday — leaving West with little choice but to file a lawsuit contesting the election.
“We’re prepared to do what it takes to make sure the votes are counted fairly and accurately,” Edson said.
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You don't say? There was "too must haste" in calling a race for Democrat Patrick Murphy when Republican Allen West was the number one target in the House by the left this election cycle? Fasten your seatbelts folks.
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