Projo Politics Blog

Journal photo/ Kathy Borchers
At the Rhode Island Board of Elections, attorneys and board members check ballot results in a recount of the Democratic primary between Erin P. Lynch and David Bennett for a Warwick Senate seat. Clockwise from left are David Revens, an attorney for Lynch; Angel Taveras, an attorney for Bennett; Diana Pearson, an attorney for the Warwick Board of Canvassers; and board members John Daluz, Richard Pierce and Frank Rego.

PROVIDENCE -- Board of Elections staff went through eight boxes -- about 2,400 ballots -- and found two missing mail ballots in today's state Supreme Court-ordered recount in Warwick's Senate District 31 Democratic primary beetwen Erin Lynch and David Bennett.

Once Board of Elections members return from lunch, the counting -- including who received which of those two votes -- will resume.

Before lunch, the board had completed the voting machine counts, reviewed provisional and mail ballots, and found two mail ballots to be missing.

Lynch was attending this morning's recount. Angel Taveras, a lawyer for Bennett is also there.

The state Supreme Court ordered the state Board of Elections to recount that race and also recount votes in the Democratic primary between state Sen. Stephen D. Alves and Michael Pinga for West Warwick's Senate District 9 seat.

On primary night last month, Alves, the influential chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, lost by 17 votes.

Bennett, candidate for the District 31 seat to be vacated after four decades by John C. Revens, lost by 10 votes.

The board has already recounted both races. The recounts upheld the original results, although the vote totals were different. Both of the apparent losing candidates appealed to the state Supreme Court, asking for new elections.

The high court has ordered both recounts.

Both orders require recounting all provisional, mail and regular ballots cast. And the court ordered the state Board of Elections to examine any ballots rejected by the optical scanning machines to determine which candidate, if any, the voters intended to choose but failed to mark correctly.

-- With reports from Journal staff writer Talia Buford

 Tags  David Bennett Erin Lynch Michael Pringa Providence state Board of Elections Stephen D. Alves

Comments

judy said:

The fact that the Supreme Court ordered a THIRD count of ballots in the Pinga/Alves race makes me wonder how much the Chief Justice has been offered for the new courthouse he wants so badly. Perhaps a statue dedicated to he and Lincoln?

WHY do we continue to take this??

Link | October 3, 2008 2:53 PM
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Cut the board three times, still too short said:

Watta ya gonna do, cut the board three times, still too short.

Is this the New Math? No wonder our kids are failing.

Link | October 3, 2008 7:08 PM
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