Cobb Calls for Compromise in NM Recount

According to an article in today's Albuquerque Journal, the Green Party's David Cobb is negotiating for a compromise involving his suit to compel an immediate recount. He's proposing a partial recount of a 10 percent sample of the vote, with a full recount to follow if significant problems are discovered.

Quote:

"We know that there were extraordinary voting anomalies on precincts that used the new technology," Cobb said at a Santa Fe diner. Of particular concern, Cobb said, are voting machines that do not produce a paper trail; the so-called undervote, when some people vote for local offices but do not vote in the presidential race; and the reliability of optical scanning machines that count paper ballots.

Cobb and Badnarik did not meet the Thursday deadline for the $1.4 million deposit the NM Canvassing Board required for a full recount. Therefore, only a NM Supreme Court decision or a compromise with the Canvassing Board can make a recount possible. As of 5:00 PM on Thursday, the court had not acted on the matter nor scheduled a hearing. Justices Edward L. Chavez and Petra Maes have recused themselves on this case.

Quote from Cobb:

"Everything we have done has been an attempt to establish a cooperative relationship with elections administrators in this state," he said. "This is about auditing the machinery and the technology, and we really have been thwarted at every turn by the governor's office." (emphasis added)