U.S. Elections 2008

News & Polls

06 November 2008
Votes Still Being Counted in Handful of Congressional Races

By Michelle Austein
Staff Writer

Washington — The process of ensuring every vote counts might take days or even weeks in some extremely close congressional races across the United States.

On November 4, U.S. voters cast ballots for thousands of officials, including all 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 35 members of the 100-member U.S. Senate.

Although the outcomes of some very close races are still unknown, it is clear that Democrats will increase their majorities in both houses of Congress — majorities achieved in the 2006 midterm elections. The 2008 results were not surprising in a year in which some Republicans opted not to run for re-election.

The Democratic Party has earned at least 20 additional seats in the House of Representatives and six in the Senate. As of midday November 6, five House contests and three Senate races were “too close to call,” meaning no winners have been projected because the number of votes separating the two candidates was too slim to predict who will win once every vote is counted and the results certified by the appropriate state authorities.

Each state establishes its own procedures for counting votes. Typically, votes cast at polling places can be tabulated fairly quickly, while absentee ballots mailed in take more time to verify and count.

Because most states accept absentee ballots mailed on Election Day as well as before, it could be a few days before all ballots are received. Some states already have counted most of their absentee ballots, while other states have yet to do so. Additionally, many states have not yet counted provisional ballots, which are cast by voters whose eligibility to vote is unclear on Election Day. Before these ballots can be counted, the voters must be deemed eligible.

Finally, each state has its own laws governing the manner in which votes are cast, counted and, if necessary, recounted. Some states automatically require votes to be recounted in races where the number of votes separating the two candidates falls below a certain percentage of the total number of votes cast.

DEMOCRATS STILL TRYING TO EARN 60 SENATE SEATS

In the current Congress (the 110th), 49 Democratic senators and the Democratic-voting independents Joe Lieberman and Bernie Sanders give the Democratic Party its narrow majority in the Senate. That slim margin meant that Democrats chaired all the Senate committees during the 110th Congress.

The known 2008 Election Day gains give the 111th Congress 57 Democrats and Democratic-voting independents — three shy of the party’s goal of 60 seats.

Holding 60 seats is important because Senate rules require 60 votes to end a filibuster — a parliamentary procedure that allows senators to continue a debate indefinitely and block or delay a vote on a measure or nomination. Prominent Democrats have been campaigning in U.S. Senate races across the country, reminding voters of their party’s goal to reach the “magic number 60.”

Democrats could still reach that “magic number” if their candidates win in each of the three outstanding races — Minnesota, Alaska and Georgia. But it could be weeks before officials can determine if they were successful.

The Minnesota race — an exciting contest many across the country had been watching — features a “too close to call” race between first-term Republican Senator Norm Coleman and comedian-turned-Democratic-politician Al Franken. On November 4, at least one news network called the race for Coleman but then had to “uncall” the race as it became apparent very few votes would separate the two candidates.

As the state finished counting the 2.9 million votes cast, Coleman had just a 477-vote lead. Minnesota law requires elections in which the candidates are separated by less than one-half of 1 percent to be recounted. All the votes will be recounted by hand, a process that likely will take weeks.

In Alaska, absentee ballots will decide who wins the Senate contest between incumbent Republican Ted Stevens and Democrat Mark Begich. This was another contest many Americans were watching closely because Stevens, one of the Senate’s longest-serving members, recently was convicted on corruption charges. On the afternoon of November 5, Stevens held a 3,353-vote lead, but more than 50,000 absentee votes remained to be counted.

Georgians also might have to wait weeks to know the outcome of their Senate contest. The race featured three candidates: Republican Saxby Chambliss, Democrat Jim Martin and Libertarian Allen Buckley. Georgia is one of a few states requiring the winner to earn at least 50 percent of the vote. If a candidate fails to do so, the top two face each other in a runoff election in December.

With 96 percent of the vote counted, no candidate had reached the 50-percent threshold. Both Republicans and Democrats are preparing for a runoff election between Chambliss and Martin.

Even without reaching 60 seats, the Democrat's Senate majority is “very significant” because it is one of the largest enjoyed by either party in decades, John Fortier, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told journalists at the State Department’s Foreign Press Center on November 4.

Fortier also noted that even if the Democrats do earn 60 seats, this does not mean the party will always be able to prevent filibusters. Senators hold a wide range of political views, and not all party members will vote to end a filibuster on every issue. Alternatively, even if the Democrats do not earn 60 seats, on certain topics they may be able to end a filibuster with the help of moderate Republicans.

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