News from the vault

The vault, which has a metal, fireproof door and metal storage shelves, is where they have been counting the absentee ballots for the Jim Tedisco-Scott Murphy congressional race in the basement offices of the Saratoga County Board of Elections in Ballston Spa. It's the county where Tedisco (the Republican) did best, and his lawyers said he was up over 170 there in the absentee count earlier today (which would more than wipe out Murphy's lead in other counties). The Democratic elections commissioner could not confirm or deny that. Saratoga County is expected to complete its absentee count and release vote figures tomorrow, and while Tedisco will pick up votes there, he will likely lose ground in Washington County (where the Republican campaign failed to capitalize on local issues such as falling milk prices and endangered train service, instead focusing districtwide on ineffective negative ads). Then a judge will have to rule on the ballots to which one side or the other has raised objections.

The key is likely to be overseas military ballots, and whether the Tedisco camp gets the 15-day extension it has requested for them to come in. Tedisco lawyer James Walsh said he sent a letter yesterday to all the county boards of elections reminding them that they are required to retain such ballots coming in even after the current April 13 deadline. He said the decision on the extension will be up to the U.S. Department of Justice, but did not have information about any national political strategy to pressure the Obama Justice Department into granting it. (President Obama belongs to the same party as Murphy, and the conventional wisdom is that the military vote will break in Tedisco's favor.) Sounds to me like a job for John McCain, who could follow the lead of his friend Orson Swindle on this issue. 

Comments

[Hudson]

Tedisco needs a whole lot more than +170 out of Saratoga County to win, given the way things are going in other counties.

For example:

Columbia County is barely halfway through its count, and even with almost 50% of the ballots being challenged by Tedisco's legal team, these are going heavily to Murphy. Murphy picked up +68 votes in Columbia today alone.

And even if (very generously) 75% of the challenges are upheld in these various counties, that 25% would unleash a huge wave of added votes for Murphy, because overwhelmingly the challenge pool represents ballots profiled by Tedisco as likely Murphy voters.

I don't think Tedisco has a prayer, frankly.