Investigation & Suit, Allen West vs. Patrick Murphy for Congress, FL, Update

UPDATES – in chronological order (original post, November 10, 4:04pm CT)

Some may have seen a headline today in the leftist Huffington Post stating Allen West has lost his re-election bid and will not have a recount. That is flatly incorrect.

From Tanya Grimsley, electoral activist in the Allen West campaign, posted today in Facebook:

Because the challenger Murphy jumped the gun as did most of the media without checking the facts and Congressman Allen West no conceding in this race, the ballots the were being counted were from the original race on Tuesday. These ballots put Allen West ahead, but not within the margin needed to declare victory. The ballots in St Lucie will also need to be completed this coming Wed. and from there will determine if either candidate is the winner or a forced mandatory recount of all the votes in the district.

Remember, no winner has been declared by the SoE. This is fact.

A video interview held yesterday (Friday) tells the story in Rep. West’s own words.

Update: Allen West campaign letter to Supervisor of Elections, St. Lucie County.

More on Florida: “Florida: Election Tampering, Vote Fraud”

UPDATE

From Allen West Republic

URGENT COME HELP – St. Lucie Issues Decision to Recount Votes EARLIER – Sunday 7:00AM

Posted by allenwestrepublic on November 10, 2012

Stuart, FL – Today West for Congress released the following statement regarding the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections’ decision to recount early votes:

“Tomorrow morning at 7:00 a.m., the St Lucie County Supervisor of Elections will recount all early votes cast in St. Lucie County. West for Congress is pleased with the Supervisor’s decision, as the counting of early votes on Election Night was of great concern to our cam\paign, given the large shift that occurred at midnight of nearly 4,000 votes.

This decision should help shed light on the situation of this election. This is the action we were seeking to ensure the results of this election were fair and accurate.

While we still look forward to reviewing the poll books used to check in voters during early voting and Election Day, this recount goes a long way to ensuring an accurate outcome.”

ADDRESS: 4132 Okeechobee Rd  Fort Pierce, Florida 34947

READ THE ST LUCIE SUPERVISORS IMMEDIATE STATEMENT HERE: St Lucie SOE

Note from Ms. Grimsley in Facebook on the above:

YOUR HELP NEEDED URGENTLY!!! The St Lucie SOE has decided that and EARLIER vote recount would be best. She has decided that SUNDAY, VETERANS DAY while all the West constituents are a part of Veterans Day activities. 7:00am PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD WE NEED THE MASSES TO SHOW UP AND HELP!!!

UPDATE – 11/11, 11:00am

We didn’t expect this hustled 7am recall to turn out to be called for the sake of good government and disclosure, did we?  Again from Allen West Republic:

 Allen West for Congress Statement “Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker clearly runs most corrupt elections office in the state of Florida”

Posted by allenwestrepublic on November 11, 2012

ST. LUCIE COUNTY SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS ATTEMPTS TO STEAL ELECTION

Supervisor of Elections Gertrude Walker clearly runs most corruptelections office in the state of Florida

Stuart, FL – Today West for Congress campaign manager Tim Edson released the following statement in response to the sham recount underway in St. Lucie County this morning:

“Late yesterday, the St. Lucie County Board of Elections had agreed to recount all early ballots to address concerns stemming from their acknowledgement of technical errors late on Election Night in the counting of the first three days of early voting, as posted on their website.

However this morning, when observers arrived at the elections office for the 7:00 a.m. recount, they were told by the Supervisor of Elections only the final three days of early voting would be recounted, when in fact the data in question relates to the first three days of voting. During discussions about the recount, the canvassing board repeatedly tried to shoo away observers and prevent them from listening in on discussions. Apparently the have never heard of Florida sunshine laws

When questioned about counting the wrong three days of voting, the Supervisor of Elections and the canvassing board claimed the errors were in fact on the final three days, despite the record from Thursday’s canvassing board meeting showing otherwise. In addition, the Supervisor has said transcripts from the earlier canvassing board meeting will not be released until the day before the votes are certified.

What was originally viewed as dangerous incompetence on the part of Gertrude Walker now appears more and more like a willful attempt to steal the election for Patrick Murphy. Nothing about this story adds up. If there is truly nothing wrong with the data from the first three days of voting, why will it not be released?

West for Congress will pursue every legal means necessary to ensure a fair election, not only to ensure Gertrude Walker is held accountable, but also ultimately replaced, so the citizens of St Lucie County will be ensured fair and accurate elections.”

In MarkAmerica:

Shell-shocked: Allen West’s Seat Stolen

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 11th, 2012 at 12:48 and is filed under Allen West, Congress, Conservatism, Cry-Baby Boehner, Featured, Florida, GOP Establishment, News, Politics, Update.

Can we afford to lose him?

I can’t even begin to characterize how thoroughly disgusting this fiasco has been.  Retired Lieutenant Colonel Allen West lost his bid for re-election after what can only be termed an incompetent and dishonest count by officials of St. Lucie County.  They did not recount everything, but only three days of early voting.  Military ballots were never counted.  I want to say this one more time. According to sources on the ground, all of the military ballots languished in a warehouse, uncounted, and they never will be counted.  This is a shocking development, and West’s legal team is pressing their case, but at this point, he’s been screwed.  There were problems with bad memory in at least one voting machine, and any number of other clear irregularities.  The GOP establishment got their wish and rid themselves of Allen West.  To be honest, while I had been hopeful, I have been expecting this sort of result.  West tangled with the machine, and they redistricted his butt to the curb in answer.  The most dynamic, forthright, and clear-minded speaker for conservatism in the House of Representatives was sent home, not only to punish him, but I believe to dispirit and punish us.

Some will choose to focus on the irregularities, the vote fraud, and all of the things that have occurred in that district, and we should certainly fight against those transgressions, but ladies and gentlemen, that ought not to have been Allen West’s district at all.  The Florida legislature, particularly those in tight with the GOP establishment, redrew West’s district knowing he would face these issues with corrupt St. Lucie County.  They knew it.  That’s why they made this area part of his district.  It was sabotage, and after all we have been through together here on this blog, if you don’t recognize it, you’re wearing blinders.  In January, I brought readers this story.

Just minutes ago, directly from Facebook, in the Allen West Republic group, Gary Galiano, boots on the ground, had this to say:

“It’s all in the attorneys hands now I feel they have so much evidence to fight this it’s not even funny. It’s a sad day when you have to count on a memory card from Office Depot to determine the final results of an election.”

And then:

“I’m signing off now going home. Sorry I couldn’t give you all better news. Take care.”

And from Tanya Grimsley:

“UPDATE from Florida. This will effect all of you soon. The SOE, Supervisor of Elections, in Saint Lucie County just kicked out all onlookers and was escorted away by the St Lucie Sheriff’s deputies (not in handcuffs). The public by the Florida State Constitution has the right to be present at any voting recount. You will think I am crazy, until you open your eyes, this is the start of the Dictatorship will will live under. The “Republic” has fallen.”

Indeed. This entire process is despicable.  While the attorneys will continue to fight as they should, you and I must carry this fight in another direction.  You see, this ought never to have happened.  The GOP establishment wanted this outcome, and it was the result they wanted when they created this new district and told West he could run here, after breaking up his district.

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Video of the Sunday Morning Hustle, via Noisy Room:

Angry crowd reacts to ‘misleading recount’ in Allen West race

UPDATE – November 13, 4:06pm CT

From The Palm Beach Post, h/t: @PolitiJim

State ‘concerned’ about St. Lucie County results in West-Murphy race, sending staff to assess

by George Bennett | November 13th, 2012

The Florida Division of Elections is sending three employees to St. Lucie County on Wednesday to try to figure out how 799 votes disappeared in Sunday’s partial recount of the close, nationally watched congressional race between U.S. Rep. Allen West and Democrat Patrick Murphy.

“We are concerned whenever there is a question about the accuracy of results,” Florida Department of State spokesman Chris Cate said in an e-mail this afternoon. “We are sending three employees, including the bureau chief, from the Bureau of Voting Systems Certifications, to assess the tabulation process in St. Lucie County.”

St. Lucie, Martin and northern Palm Beach counties make up congressional District 18, where unofficial returns since election night have shown Murphy leading West by less than 1 percent. But St. Lucie County Elections Supervisor Gertrude Walker acknowledged that her office had problems….

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UPDATE – November 13, 5:45pm CT

From BizPackReview.com

West team files complaint, seeks court order for recount

November 13, 2012

Media Release:

Congressman Allen West, along with eight other named plaintiffs who were early voters in St. Lucie County in Florida, filed a complaint today in Circuit Court in St. Lucie County.  The complaint asks the Court to immediately issue a preliminary injunction ordering Defendant Gertrude Walker, as St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections, and Defendant Dan Detzner, as Florida Secretary of State, to convene the St. Lucie County Canvassing Board for the purpose of counting all votes cast in the election for the 18th Congressional District during the early voting period, and ordering Defendants to refrain from certifying results of the election for the 18th Congressional District until all ballots cast during the early voting period have been counted.

The St. Lucie County Canvassing Board met on Sunday, November 11, 2012 for the stated purpose of recounting “all ballots cast during early voting.”  This “refeed” was not conducted pursuant to Florida’s automatic recount statute, but rather as part of the canvassing process.  The Canvassing Board, however, re-fed only ballots cast on three days during the early voting period.  This limited, partial re-feed – not conducted pursuant to any statute – uncovered significant errors in the initial tabulation of votes.  Nearly 1,000 votes disappeared from the count, and neither the Canvassing Board nor the Supervisor provided any explanation for this selective recount.  Despite publicly announcing a hearing for the purposes of re-feeding all early votes, counsel for the Canvassing Board advised publicly that “Tallahassee” recommended counting only those specific three days – all without providing information as to who advised a selective re-feed or the basis for doing so.

It stands to reason that if the remaining early votes were to be recounted, additional errors would be uncovered and the tabulation of votes revised accordingly.  Until these remaining early ballots are recounted, however, the Canvassing Board has arbitrarily applied differing counting standards to similarly situated ballots. The erroneous decision of St. Lucie County to “re-feed” only some of the early votes cast in this election violates the Florida Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection to voters.

In addition, the County has violated both the Florida Open Meeting Law, Florida Sunshine Law and the Florida Constitution by meeting behind closed doors and without providing the required notice to the public.

For more  information on the state of Florida’s  involvement with the case read :  State ‘concerned’ about St. Lucie County results in West-Murphy race, sending staff to assess