Let My Vote and Every Vote Be Counted

Today the Republicans stooped to a new low by challenging my ballot. The Republicans' challenge is frivolous and without merit.

Having spent so much time campaigning alongside Scott Murphy these past several weeks, I know Scott is the kind of hard-working and effective leader that the people of Upstate New York deserve. That is why I was so proud to vote for him to fill the seat I held in the 20th district.

All of us worked hard to elect Scott Murphy. We campaigned hard, made phone calls, and went door to door because we knew that Scott Murphy would help us change Washington and deliver for working families in Upstate New York and across the country.

I was proud to give Scott Murphy my full support in his campaign for Congress and I am deeply disturbed by the stalling tactics that national Republicans are using to delay the inevitable.

Their latest move to challenge my ballot is part of a much larger attempt to disenfranchise legal Democratic voters and delay Scott Murphy's inevitable victory in the 20th.

National Republicans are trying to turn the 20th District of New York into the next Minnesota. It is wrong.

Every day that the national Republicans waste with their dishonest stalling tactics is another day Upstate New Yorkers are deprived their Member of Congress.

The campaign in the 20th District was about who would work with President Obama to fix this economy and the voters have spoken.

Let my vote and every vote be counted.

Comments

[VivaZapata]

Gillibrand's district has some of the most beautiful countryside and pockets (like Saratoga Springs) of sophisticated populace. Let's hope there are enough of the latter to keep the district democratic.

[dezzertguy]

Why should rules matter? Just do as the Dems say and all is well. Forget laws and rules. Just let them have their way.

[veracity]

Dem "leaders" replicating History... BAD history!

< "But while [1858 Illinois Senate candidate] Lincoln may have won the debates, he lost the election. The "Whig Belt" [Central Illinois, between pro-slavery Southern Illinois, & Free-state Northern Ilinois] went almost entirely for Douglas, and the new leglislature would reelect Douglas 54% to 46%. [But] Recent research by Guelzo tells a suprising story: By analyzing the returns district by district, Guelzo discovered that of total votes cast for House seats, 190,468 were cast for Republicans, against 166,374 for Democrats. In other words, had the candidates been competing for the popular vote, Lincoln would have scored a smashing victory. 'HAD THE DISTRICTS BEEN FAIRLY APPORTIONED ACCORDING to population,' says Guelzo, Lincoln would have beaten Douglas black & blue.' IF the election was a triumph of anything, it was for gerrymandering." >
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/us-history/fergus-bordewich-contributor.html

America has had an INSTITUTIONAL BIAS for THE WEALTHY, & their propensity for CHEAP LABOR, for over two centuries. The "Democratic" "leadership" REFUSAL to COMMENT ON America's ATROCIOUS election standards today - ie the serial Republican efforts to WHINE & CRY & POUT every time they get close enough to steal an election - is an ECHO of that time when, for exampe, the PRO-SLAVERY FACTION of Illinois (ie the Democratic Party of 1858) was able to GERRYMANDER the hell out of that state.

Today, the "Democrat" Party "Leadership" f 2009 is echoes that sad, legacy - MANIPULATING election outcomes for "the money party".

[AndThenOneDay]

Hah?

[jackjolis]

Alright, Acting Senator -- how about counting all the military votes, for a start?

[AndThenOneDay]

And you say this as though it isn't happening because...?

[msully]

Because many counties did not get absentee ballots out to overseas soldiers serviing in combat areas in time to reach them, be filled out, and returned.

[glorialovelace]

FYI, Acting Human Being, the military votes ARE being counted.

[docron]

And, by the way, soon-to-be Democratic congressman Murphy is WINNING the count of absentee ballots.

Many of those absentee ballots were cast by military. So there's little reason to think that if some military did not vote, then those military votes were necessarily Republican. Actually, since Murphy is winning the absentees, just the opposite.

[den1953]

One thing the Republicans learned through Bush stall challenge and use your influence to order the winner of a election through Republican judges and forget about how the American people feel!

[dutch163]

well, that is really despicable

and ,kirsten, we need help in upstate NY!!

[haveitoldyoulately]

She Speaks!!!

I was wondering where the woman who sleeps with a loaded rifle under her bed was....I was interested to hear her speak following a shooting spree in Binghamton

[glorialovelace]

The perpetrator of the Binghampton massacre used an assault weapon, not a simple hunting rifle, fundament.

[ErikW65]

Imagine if Sen. Gillibrand had actually showed up at the polls to vote after having filed an absentee ballot. "Gillibrand Votes Twice in Election" would have been a likely headline. "Senator Claims She Was Following Law" above the article.

[ErikW65]

Well, here's the backstory:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/15/nyregion/15ballot.html?ref=politics

But I'm still puzzled as to why NY's law says in effect that "If she was present in her voting district, in her county, at the time the polls were open, she was required to vote on the machine.”

[grateful4thedead]

Dear Senator Gillibrand....as an upstate NYer, please spend your time getting an emergency extension again for unemployment insurance, which has run out or will soon for many of us. Yes, the congress voted money for this in the stimulus bill, but without an extension past the current 33 week emergency period, we cannot collect. Believe me, there are no jobs available in upstate. Please, please help get some information out of the labor department so we know what is going on.

I've called NY Dept. of Labor, they simply do not know. Have read the US Labor website, no information.

Please help us.

thank you.

[PoliticalRockChick]

Hear hear.

[veracity]

Thank you for your comment, Grateful4.....

I've been shouting & screaming & whining here at HuffPost boards, that Obama is HANDING TRILLIONS to the BANKSTERS, while the "little folks" AREN'T GETTING much - IF anything !!

But apparently that notion makes me a flaming "radical" WA-AY out "lefty".

I love & drive the BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY every chance I get.... One of the most famous and long-lived of President Roosevelt's Depression Emergency "MAKE WORK" projects.

The CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps), which hired out-of-work young men and put them in quasi-military work camps - was funded directly out of federal expenditures - NO NEED to GIVE BILLIONS to the Big Banksters first.

Today, Mr. Obama hands TRILLIONS to "bail out" the Big Banks... he REFUSES to give us AUDITS on just how bad shape they are in... and that money COULD BE GOING TO the people of UpState New York.
(where according to your comment, the money is NOT getting to.)

THIS IS BEYOND DISGRACEFUL - Upstate New York is WHERE TIMMY McVEIGH came from - - he COULD NOT FIND A JOB in 1994, he was a DECORATED Gulf War veteran!

[helpontheway]

I'm from her district too & I completely agree with everything you said it makes me so angry every time i think about it & i've been calling elected reps EVERY DAY, hope you're calling them too!! maybe if enough people do the same we can make a difference, I don't really know what else to do?

[grateful4thedead]

update....I read this past week that Gov Patterson is introducing a bill to extend the unemployment period. I don't have any other particulars, but it was in an upstate NY major daily. good luck to all. Again, please help if you can Senator Gillibrand. Lots of us are running out of unemployment and the job situation is just not improving.

thank you.

[CherokeeGirl]

Hey, thanks for chiming in, Kirsten. It was good to see you here today telling us what's going on. I look forward to hearing more from you in the future! :)

[freakmind]

This article doesn't explain what's going on. What are they doing?

[koppenberg]

They claimed she was in the area on election day, so her absentee ballot is invalid by the letter of the law.

So if she was not there, the challenge is bogus.

If she was there, then there's a case, one likely to be filed selectively, e.g. they wouldn't challenge overseas military ballots arriving outside the law's wording (at least if they believed they'd be for the Democrat).

[gdogs]

It seems like we have forgotten what absentee ballots are actually for in this country. While I agree Sen Gillibrand has a legitimate reason for voting this way, the vast majority of absentee ballots aren't being cast for the specified purpose.

[NYMike21]

Tedisco is desperate. He knows he's lost but won't give up. All he's succeeded in doing is making himself look worse than John Sweeney, and boy is that saying something . It's time to seat Congressman-elect Murphy.

[kepary]

i agree but only count our votes ONCE