Friday news dump - Candidate sues Sarasota County FLA Supervisor of Elections Over Recount Refusal

[SugarShack]

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20100910/BREAKING/100919992/2416/NEWS?Title=Candidate-sues-Dent-over-recount-refusal

Candidate sues Sarasota County FLA Supervisor of Elections Over Recount Refusal
By Todd Ruger

Published: Friday, September 10, 2010 at 11:52 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, September 10, 2010 at 11:52 a.m.
SARASOTA COUNTY - Another election down, another accusation of misconduct against Sarasota Supervisor of Elections Kathy Dent.

Charter Review Board candidate Kathy Bolam filed a lawsuit against Dent and other election officials Thursday, asking the courts to order a recount even though she conceded the close race in an e-mail.

The vote totals were so close in the August primary election — 135 votes, less than .3 percent separated the candidates — that state law called for an automatic recount unless Bolam declined in writing.

Bolam's lawsuit argues that Dent's actions after the election amounted to misconduct.

First, Bolam says Dent advised her that a recount likely would not change the outcome of the election but omitted important facts: that 80 or 90 provisional ballots were yet to be counted; and there were numerous problems with the voting machines such as jammed ballots.

Bolam says she did not intend to waive her right to a recount in the e-mail sent on Aug. 25, the day after the primary election. Bolam changed her mind 12 hours later and asked for a recount. By that time, elections officials say they had called off the plans for a recount and had called incumbent Adam Miller and told him he had won.

Bolam's lawsuit also says her rights were violated at the Canvassing Board meeting when members decided to forgo the recount. Bolam was not allowed to speak, Dent did not provide Bolam's written statement to other members of the three-member board, and Dent followed her own recommendation by casting the deciding vote against the recount.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

1. one way to deal with FRI news dump

is to write an op/ed. That keeps the issue alive in the news cycle.

[napi21]

2. Sorry, but IMO, she was stupid to have conceded. Since she did, I suspect

the Supervisor if off the hook. No law can prevent your stupidity.