
Alaska Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwall released the findings of a review of state election laws and proceedings on Friday, in the wake of the 2010 senatorial race contested by Republican candidate Joe Miller.
The report recommends a number of changes to election proceedings, but notes in the findings that "perhaps the single most important finding in the review is that no change in procedure or state law recommended would have changed the outcome of the 2010 General Election."
The state of Alaska paid about $100,000 to fight Republican senate candidate Joe Miller's failed challenge of Sen. Lisa Murkowski's win in November, according to testimony by an assistant attorney general.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Alaska Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller, the Tea Party-backed (and Sarah Palin-backed) insurgent who defeated incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary, only to then lose to Murkowski's write-in campaign for the general election, has now announced that he is ending his legal challenge to Murkowski's victory -- effectively conceding the race and ending the 2010 election right on New Year's Eve.
As the Anchorage Daily News reports:
Miller thanked his supporters and said the time has come to accept the "practical realities" of court decisions that have been unanimous in ruling against his challenge. He said he would remain a voice for smaller government, less federal spending and other issues favored by the tea party.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
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Miller, a self-proclaimed expert in Constitutional law, had his challenges to Murkowski's election thrown out by an Alaska Superior Court judge from Ketchikan, a unanimous Alaska Supreme Court, and a U.S. District Court judge in Anchorage. The federal judge, Ralph Beistline, said the case against Miller was so overwhelming that he ruled before the state even filed all its arguments opposing Miller's claims.
With the year 2010 coming to a close, and a truly raucous election season behind us (and another set to begin), let's take a look at a real highlight of the cycle: A sampling, even just a small one, of some great campaign ads we got to see over the past year.
Unlike some of our other lists, we're not talking about a mix of great ads and awful ones that took on a kitsch value. (I'm looking in your direction, "I'm not a witch. I'm you," and also at you, "Aqua Buddha.")
No, here we're talking about truly great ads that applied ingenuity, creativity and pure guts to an election. We're talking about the ones whose creators deserve accolades and good spots on campaigns for 2012 -- and might just get them.
So get out your popcorn and your New Year's alcohol, and watch our five picks.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)The state of Alaska has certified Sen. Lisa Murkowski as the winner of the 2010 Senate race, following an almost two-month long court challenge by her opponent, Republican Joe Miller.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)A federal judge has dismissed Joe Miller's lawsuit over the Alaska Senate race, and has lifted his block on Lisa Murkowski's certification to her Senate seat.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Joe Miller says he won't object to the state certifying Sen. Lisa Murkowski's apparent victory in the Alaska Senate race -- but that's not going to stop him from continuing his election challenge in federal court.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)In a crippling setback for Joe Miller, the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled against him in his opposition to Sen. Lisa Murkowski's apparent Senate win, saying there are "no remaining issues raised by Miller that prevent this election from being certified."
Miller's suit argued that it was against state law for misspelled write-in ballots to count as votes for Murkowski.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Alaska federal Judge Ralph Beistline set an expedited briefing schedule yesterday for Joe Miller's state Supreme Court appeal over the Senate race, and said that "most certainly, Alaska should have a Senator certified by January 3, 2011, even if subsequent events require that the Senator be replaced."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Last week, an Alaska judge ruled against Joe Miller in his suit over the Alaska Senate race. But Miller isn't letting a little thing like that stop him from continuing his fight, and yesterday he filed an appeal with the state Supreme Court.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has expressed his hope that litigation in the Alaska Senate race -- where Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski's apparent victory as a write-in candidate is being challenged by the Tea Party-backed GOP nominee Joe Miller -- ends soon and the state has full representation in the Senate. Hmm...
As Roll Call reports:
"We just have to be patient and wait for the judge to decide," said Cornyn, a former judge. "I understand that could be as early as [Thursday], and I hope it doesn't go on much longer because I think the people of Alaska deserve to have a Senator when we reconvene again in January, and not still have that up in the air."PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Attorneys for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) faced off in state court today against the legal team of Republican nominee Joe Miller, in Miller's attempts to defeat Murkowski's write-in campaign. No ruling will come immediately today, but is expected to come by Friday.
As KTUU, the local NBC affiliate in Anchorage, reports:
Miller argues that write-in votes must name "Lisa Murkowski," exactly as her name appears on her declaration of candidacy, to be counted.PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
Murkowski's lawyers, who have intervened in the lawsuit, turned to a dictionary for their argument and say the word "appears" means "seems to be" and therefore allows elections officials to assume voter intent.
The state's attorney, Joanne Grace, agreed and says Miller's "standard of perfection" clearly disenfranchises voters.
Alaska Republican Senate nominee Joe Miller appeared today on Fox News with Neil Cavuto, and brushed off concern that his legal maneuvering to try to stop the apparent victory of incumbent GOP Senator and write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski would damage the state, by depriving it of a second Senator. Furthermore, he seemed to say that Alaska having a full complement of senators would only further the "fiscal destruction of the nation" if the other senator is Murkowski.
Cavuto asked about comments today from Alaska's Democratic Sen. Mark Begich, who called upon Miller to concede and not hold up the certification of Murkowski's win: "I'm sorry, but are you concerned, as Sen. Begich pointed out, that whatever your reasons -- and they might be perfectly justified -- Alaska stands a pretty good likelihood now of having just one senator for a while, when some of the biggest issues of our time are being debated."
"Yeah, and I guess the question becomes, is that one extra vote gonna be used to continue to grow government, continue the largesse, to continue earmarks -- to basically continue the fiscal destruction of the nation?" Miller responded. "And frankly, I don't think we need that.
"But you know, getting more to the point, I don't think anybody's actually proven there's gonna be adverse impact. Hopefully, this process can be resolved quickly, and before, you know, the January swearing-in date."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Sen. Mark Begich (D-AK) is now wading into the intramural Republican battle in Alaska, calling upon GOP Senate nominee Joe Miller to concede the race against incumbent GOP Senator and write-in candidate Lisa Murkowski.
As the Anchorage Daily News reports:
Begich, though, said it's time for Miller "to put Alaska interests ahead of personal ambition and allow the State of Alaska to certify Lisa Murkowski as the winner."PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)
"Failure to certify the election could prevent Senator Murkowski from being sworn into office in early January when other new senators officially take office," Begich said.
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"Without both senators, Alaska's interests will be at risk on critical issues from energy development to job creation and reducing the national debt in a way that's fair to Alaskans," he said.
In a column on Friday in the Washington Times, Alaska Republican Senate nominee continued to rail against the apparently successful write-in campaign by incumbent GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski. In this new column, entitled "Writing In Corruption," Miller blames the federally-charted Alaska Native corporations, which have a big presence in the state, for supporting Murkowski. They did this, he writes, in order to maintain a pipeline of federal earmarks that sustain them.
In this effort, he says, they formed a "super-PAC" called Alaskans Standing Together, which conducted all sorts of underhanded activities for Murkowski -- such as running an ad campaign against him, educating voters on how to cast a write-in vote, and getting out the vote with rides to the polls.
"AST hit the airways with hundreds of thousands of dollars in attack ads, making numerous false allegations regarding my positions and background. Within a mere three weeks, AST spent $1.2 million, inundating the Alaska market," Miller writes. "It also hired dozens of workers to travel to the villages to teach people how to vote for Lisa Murkowski. They even painted vans with AST's logo to bus people to the polls."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Republican Joe Miller argued yesterday that expediting his Alaska Senate lawsuit is unnecessary because there's no "evidence at all" that suggests Sen. Lisa Murkowski will lose her seniority if she's not seated by January 3. But even if she did, Miller said, who cares, because the House might ban earmarks anyway.
"What exactly are we getting for it?" he asked.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)An Alaska judge has allowed Sen. Lisa Murkowski to intervene in Joe Miller's lawsuit against the state over the results of the Alaska Senate race.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)An Alaska judge has expedited the schedule for Republican Joe Miller's Alaska Senate race lawsuit, setting arguments for next Wednesday and asking that attorneys on both sides complete any filings as quickly as possible.
Despite Miller's objections, Judge William Carey said: "We need to resolve this matter at this state court level just as soon as we can."
Miller's suit argues that the state acted unlawfully in counting misspelled ballots for write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski. He also alleges that Murkowski's ballots were held to a different standard because they were counted by hand, while his were counted by machine.
Murkowski waged a write-in campaign after losing the Republican primary to Miller, and managed to come out ahead by over 10,000 votes in the general election. Two thousand of those votes went uncontested by the Miller campaign in the initial count.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)DropZone Security, a private security team hired by Republican Joe Miller for an October town hall, won't be charged for handcuffing and detaining Alaska Dispatch editor Tony Hopfinger.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)In the latest filing in the lawsuit over the Alaska Senate race, Joe Miller argues against Sen. Lisa Murkowski's motion to intervene in the suit, because she has not shown that the state cannot "represent her interests adequately."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Sen. Lisa Murkowski filed a motion on Wednesday to intervene in Joe Miller's lawsuit against the state of Alaska and the Alaska Division of Elections, arguing that she deserves to be a party to the suit "to keep those thousands of voters from being disenfranchised by Mr. Miller."
In the motion, Murkowski's attorney Scott M. Kendall wrote that "there are numerous critical issues facing our nation and Alaskans deserve to have full representation in the United States Senate."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Even Norm Coleman thinks it's time for Joe Miller to give up his Alaska Senate fight. "I think that race is over," Coleman said in an interview that will air this Sunday on C-SPAN's Newsmakers. "I think the counting's been done I'm not sure there's anything that would change that."
"It should be time to move on," he said. "There's not much that you can gain by extending the process."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)In the latest dispute in the Alaska Senate race, Joe Miller and Lisa Murkowski are debating where to hold the hearings over Miller's lawsuit in state court. Murkowski, who announced Monday that she would attempt to intervene as a party on the state's side of the case, argues that the case should be heard in Juneau, where the write-in vote count was held. Miller wants the suit heard in Fairbanks.
The tea party-backed Miller won a surprise victory over Murkowski in the Republican primary, only to fall short to her historic write-in bid in the general election. Murkowski has declared victory and the AP has called the race for her -- though the state hasn't certified the result yet.
The court has yet to decide whether to accept Murkowski's attempt to become a part of the suit, which she said was an attempt "to keep those thousands of voters from being disenfranchised by Mr. Miller."
Her campaign manager Kevin Sweeney says the campaign will file a motion over the location if the state won't, KTUU reports.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Republican Joe Miller filed his lawsuit in state court yesterday, after a federal judge ruled that his complaints over the Alaska Senate race were under the state court's jurisdiction.
In the latest filing, Miller makes two new arguments, including the claim that in several precincts, "the handwriting on many or all of the write-in ballots appears to be from the same person, or the same small group of 2 to 4 people," therefore signifying that the write-in vote was not written by the voter him or herself.
Republican Joe Miller is not showing any signs of giving up his fight against Sen. Lisa Murkowski's win in the Alaska Senate race. But the sounds of silence from his Republican (former?) friends is starting to speak volumes...
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Today is Joe Miller's deadline for filing suit in state court over the Alaska Senate race, following a federal judge's order that the election certification be delayed pending a review by the state court.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Stephen Colbert last night had a bit of breaking news, declaring "tea party favorite and groomed yeti" Republican Joe Miller the winner in the Alaska Senate race.
The AP has already declared write-in candidate and incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski the winner, and the Alaska GOP has urged Miller to concede gracefully. But that didn't stop Colbert from celebrating.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Republican Joe Miller is officially not giving up in the Alaska Senate race.
Yesterday, he filed an injunction in federal court to stop the race from being certified for write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski. He also requested that all of the votes in the election be recounted.
Joe Miller may not be ready to give up on the Alaska Senate race, but the Republican Party of Alaska sure is.
In a statement yesterday, AK GOP Chairman Randy Ruedrich said: "This was a free and fair election. It is now time to look forward. We call on Joe Miller to respect the will of the voters and end his campaign in a dignified manner. We have every expectation that Joe will do the right thing."
Sen. Lisa Murkowski declared victory last night after a nearly unprecedented write-in campaign for Alaska Senate, beating out Republican nominee and Tea Party favorite Joe Miller. "I think we can say our miracle is here," Murkowski said at a rally in Alaska last night.
And when making the rounds on the cable news shows last night and this morning, Murkowski was confident that though Miller is not giving up yet, "you just can't convince me that a recount is going to change the outcome of this."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Now that the AP has called the Alaska Senate race for Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Neil Cavuto wants to know this of Republican Joe Miller: "Do you feel a little like Custer right now?"
On Fox News this afternoon, Miller told Cavuto that "it's not a question as to how I feel, it's a question as to whether or not the voters of the state of Alaska deserve to have a consistent standard applied to the future, whether or not they deserve integrity in the vote. And those questions aren't answered yet."
Write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski has won the Alaska Senate race, according to the Associated Press.
That call comes more than two weeks after the polls closed in Alaksa. State elections officials announced that there were only 700 votes left to count, with Murkowski holding a 10,000-vote lead over her opponent, Republican nominee Joe Miller.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Just over a week after returning to D.C. for the lame duck session, Sen. Lisa Murkowski is flying back to Alaska as the count of write-in votes looks to be wrapping up today. And it appears that she could declare victory in the Senate race.
Murkowski campaign manager Kevin Sweeney told the New York Times that Murkowski will hold an event in Anchorage tonight for supporters, and "she will comment on the election once all the votes are counted tomorrow afternoon."
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Sen. Lisa Murkowski said yesterday that she doesn't blame her felllow GOPers for throwing their weight behind the tea party-backed Joe Miller in the Alaska Senate race. "I knew that by running as a write-in candidate, I would not be my party's nominee," she said. "I could not expect that same level of support that other party nominees would have, and that's the simple reality of it."
Murkowski launched her write-in campaign after losing to Miller in the Republican primary, and now looks poised to win as the state finishes counting the write-in ballots.
Write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is now leading Republican nominee Joe Miller by 10,400 votes in the Alaska Senate race. Though the Miller campaign has challenged a portion of those votes, Murkowski is still leading by 2,247 uncontested ballots, giving her what seems to be an insurmountable lead over Miller.
But Miller is not done yet -- his campaign is now calling for the Division of Elections to recount all of the ballots, not just the write-ins, by hand, citing "past problems with machine counting" that give Murkowski an edge over Miller since her votes were all counted by hand.
Murkowski launched her write-in campaign after losing the Republican primary to the tea party-backed Miller. Write-in candidates received 41% of the vote in the general election, which forced a count of the ballots to see how many were for Murkowski.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)In another setback for Republican Joe Miller's Alaska Senate campaign, write-in candidate Sen. Lisa Murkowski has pulled ahead by about 1,700 votes.
Murkowski launched her write-in campaign after losing the Republican primary to the tea party-backed Miller. Write-in candidates received 41% of the vote in the general election, which forced a count of the ballots to see how many were for Murkowski.
She now leads with about 92,000 votes, but that includes roughly 7,600 votes that were challenged by the Miller campaign.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) doesn't have much faith in Sarah Palin's ability to be president, and said as much to known Palin nemesis Katie Couric on CBS last night. "I just do not think that she has those leadership qualities, that intellectual curiosity that allows for building good and great policies," Murkowski said. She added: "I don't think that she enjoyed governing."
"She would not be my choice for president," Murkowski said.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Republican Joe Miller is still confident about his lead in uncontested write-in ballots in the Alaska Senate race against Sen. Lisa Murkowski, despite Murkowski's steady gains since the count started five days ago. "If current trends hold, Miller and Murkowski will likely end up in a dead heat in the uncontested ballot count," the Miller campaign said in a press release.
But even if his lead among the uncontested ballots gives Miller hope, the departure of half of his legal team from Juneau over the weekend could be a sign that the Miller team thinks a lawsuit over contested ballots will be unnecessary, and that Murkowski will win outright with uncontested ballots.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Joe Miller has a new advisor to help him with his war on spelling in the Alaska Senate write-in count -- and it's Floyd Brown, the infamous conservative strategist behind the "Willie Horton" TV ad in the 1988 presidential campaign, the co-founder of Citizens United and the birther-friendly blogger.
Miller beat Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary, but now appears to trail her write-in campaign in the general election. Write-in ballots are currently being examined to see how many are for Murkowski.
PERMALINK | COMMENTS | RECOMMEND RECOMMEND (0)Republican Joe Miller's fight over the Alaska Senate write-in count just got a little help from an old friend. Sarah Palin's SarahPAC donated $5,000 to Miller's campaign yesterday, The Associated Press reports.
Miller beat Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Republican primary, but now appears to trail her write-in campaign in the general election. Write-in ballots are currently being examined to see how many are for Murkowski.
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