Out here on Long Island, off the east coast, an important congressional seat hangs in the balance. Incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop was ahead by nearly 4000 votes, until a re-canvass found him down by 400 votes. It's close.
I just got a letter from the Bishop campaign asking for help in raising $25,000 by Monday morning, in preparation for the legal struggle to come.
We are in the beginning stages of what could prove to be a lengthy and costly process. And, you can bet the Republicans are sending resources, legal teams, and staff to help our opponent.
Remember Florida in 2000?
Bishop stood tall against a particularly nasty bunch of tea-partiers since the campaign began. Absentee ballots are going to be critical, and it's going to be an ugly fight. Right now he needs volunteers, and cash.
Bishop looked like he was ahead on Wednesday, but things changed yesterday, according to Newsday:
In the close House race on the East End, Republican Randy Altschuler moved ahead of incumbent Rep. Tim Bishop Friday after a re-canvass of voting machines.
Altschuler leads Bishop, a Democrat, by about 400 votes, both campaigns said, citing data from the Suffolk County Board of Elections. That represents a swing of almost 4,000 votes because Bishop was ahead by 3,461 earlier this week.
Now everything hinges on absentee ballots, and protection of voting integrity. His letter says,
Our 3461 vote lead on Election Day is now a 383 vote deficit after a recanvass of the voting machines. This dramatic swing of approximately 4000 votes and reports of problems at polling places on Tuesday make clear we must do everything we can to ensure that every single vote is properly counted.
They also are trying to assemble reports of voting problems at this site.
Finally, they're asking for a full recount of paper ballots:
The vote count released last night is one of many steps to ensure that every voter's voice is heard. In fact, 10,600 absentee and affidavit ballots still haven't been counted.
The integrity of the electoral process is frankly more important than even the result of this election. And for that reason, we must do whatever it takes to count every vote, including a full hand recount of the ballots. Suffolk County residents insisted on having a paper backup in the new machines to document every vote, and these circumstances demand we recount them all.
To match the GOP machine, the campaign will need volunteers, information and cash. Can we help out? I ask as a constituent of NY-01, but everyone would benefit from another Democrat in Congress this coming year. We'll need all the help we can get!