There may be hope for Alaska yet.
Believe it or not, last Tuesday’s election still isn’t over. Democrat Mark Begich is now ahead of convicted Senator Ted Stevens in Alaska. They’re still counting the absentee ballots, but Begich has now pulled out in front by almost 900 votes. While that may be shocking news in and of itself, the question I want to ask is: How the hell are they STILL counting votes in Alaska?
Seriously, the entire state has only 490,656 registered voters. Granted, that’s an increase from previous elections, but not an overwhelming one. Then, of course, there’s the fact that only 45.2% of registered voters in Alaska actually cast a ballot in this election. That, more than one week later, a state is still counting ballots for a seat in the U.S. Senate only further illustrates what I’ve already said before: It’s time to reform and/or replace the election system in this country.
A few days before the election, the polls showed Begich out in front of Stevens. Initial ballot counts on Election Day seemed to contradict this, however, with Stevens building a solid lead. In addition, it looks like there might be some voting irregularities in Anchorage. Trouble in Palin’s backyard? I thought she had gotten all mavericky on the situation up there and cleaned things up?
And could someone please tell me again how Stevens is able to hold his job after being convicted of crimes?
–Gordy
I think we need a sequel to Thomas Frank’s book, “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” We can call it “WTF is Up with Alaska?” It is seriously wrong that a state with one of the smallest populations in the country hasn’t finished counting. Don’t they have computers up there? Did they scratch their votes on whale skins or something? Crazy. But hey, GO BEGICH!!!