Miller picked up 2100 votes from early and absentee counts. The count of write-in votes started today. Miller is suingto bar misspelled names.
Looks like they’re not challenging all that many, 5-10% so far, of which most are being accepted as valid. Including one for “Lisa, Murkowski”. But still, I guess that 5-10% will be enough for Miller to base a court case on.
P.S. One for “Frank Morkowski” was not accepted. 
As of noon, Alaska time, 90% of the write-ins are for Murkowski. Miller is toast; he just won’t admit it.
The first numbers released show that 89% of the write-ins are absolutely correct for Murkowski–oval filled in and name spelled correctly. Assuming that holds, then even without the challenged and counted ballots, Murkowski has about 37% vs Miller’s 34.3%. I’m don’t know whether that falls within Alaska’s guidelines for a recount.
Which reminds me: I can’t find anything anywhere regarding 40% being required to avoid a runoff except here. Is that just a rumor we’ve got?
You people just don’t understand Joe Miller math
No seriously, I’m not kidding.
Huh. Did he register as a write-in candidate so that he could get that projected 1%?
From this site:
This also applies statewide.
It appears he did place himself on the write-in list.
You would think there’d be a rule against that.
(Full disclosure: Scott McAdams did too.)
I can’t find anything that shows that. Title 29 applies to municipal governments only. I believe you’re misunderstanding its application.
The one percent is what made me laugh. Seriously he thinks a full one percent of voters would write in his name rather then check the freaking box? Shows he thinks that people who vote for him are pretty stupid.
Or he really knows his constituency.
I think it also shows his anticipation of his supporters trying to subvert and disrupt the process – just like him.
Hell, I can’t either. I’m sure I read this in one of the articles about the Alaska election, but finding it has not been successful. Sorry if this was bogus info.
It’s not a big deal.
Today’s trend seems to be following yesterday: about 89% unchallenged and 8-9% challenged, the remainder being for Sid Hill and the like.
The ADN’s Alaska politics blog has pictures of some challenged ballots, which make it appear that Miller’s people consider this a penmanship test. If a letter can possibly considered as a different letter, challenge it. Hence the challenge of a voter whose writing could, in a bad light and without my glasses, have said Lisa Mvrkowski. And another one might have been Murfowski.
Some ballots are easier than others.
I wonder how the Lizard People did in this race.
The rats are abandoning the ship. When the lawyers start scurrying back under the slimy rocks from whence they came, the rotted meat must be about gone.
Murkowski has said repeatedly that if she wins she’ll remain a Republican. But since she technically ran as an independent, how will she be listed on the Congressional rolls? Will she have an (I) next to her name like Joe Lieberman. Or can she offically change her affiliation to ® once her new term begins.
Since she ran as a write-in, I don’t think she is technically an Independent, since that designation never appeared on the ballot.
According to the registar upthread for write in candidates Murkowski ran as a Republican. She may not have been the party endorsed Republican but I’d see no reason to count her otherwise.
In Lieberman’s case in order to get himself on the ballot rather then as a write-in he dropped his party and created a new party, Connecticut for Lieberman.