Friday, December 12, 2008

Padavan-Gennaro Starting To Look Like Bush v. Gore

I was hoping to write about the still-contested State Senate race until it was decided, but things are just too crazy out there. The court had allowed 2,000 ballots to be re-examined to ensure they weren't just tossed out without a thorough review. With less than 600 votes between the two, that amount of votes has the possibility of changing the outcome of the election, even if it is slim. Yet just as soon as the counting began, another court stepped in to stop it.

From The NY Times:

After a State Supreme Court judge ruled that 2,000 paper ballots could be counted, the Appellate Division issued a stay on Thursday afternoon, halting any further counting of ballots until their fate is determined at a hearing next Thursday in Brooklyn.
Why the Appellate Court sees a need to stop the last stages of counting ballots, or even re-examining them is odd. Padavan and the Republicans are thrilled that one court overruled another to stop counting votes. Of course, the Gennaro's camp and the Democratic Party want a full accounting of the ballots but are now stopped from doing so until next week. Meanwhile, both sides will trade barbs but the count is officially stopped, after being stopped and started before.

The stakes aren't as high as Florida in 2000, but things certainly sound familiar. All we need is a staged and enraged group like the Brooks Brothers Riot and we're good to go.