Fabulous Furry Friday

Friday am and I’ve already been to the chiro. Both KG and Ronnie are home and down with something nasty and it’s just one of those moist, foggy, but tolerably warm January days that seem as though there’s no real demarcation between the sky and the sea (in spite of us being so disturbingly far inland.) Not bad for January though.
I’m waiting for a couple of contractors to come over and give us bids on a kitchen remodel. It’s not huge but it’s huge enough that it’ll upset the house for a few weeks. That’ll be a joy. It’ll be KG who gets the worst of the disorder as she works at home. At least I have an office to go to.
So, I checked the health insurance and I get 12 chiropractor visits a year. I don’t know if that’s going to do it for me but I don’t really have a budget for paying out of pocket right now. I’ll chat with her about it and see if she has any suggestions other than turning my head to the side and coughing. I know I should begin swimming, that would likely help my shoulders, and walking, etc. It’s my next evolutionary leap.
So, is the Kooch cool, or what? Requesting a recount in New Hampshire is such a great move! I’d love to vote for that guy. This country would be a very different place with him in the White House (of course it would have to be very different for him to get there in the first place, but evolution happens and maybe when things get ugly enough we will begin to embrace change in order to survive.) It’s getting there.
Anyhow, now that the holidaze are over, it’s time to begin planning G-lo’s 85th birthday party. It looks as though it’s going be take place a couple of weeks after her 86th birthday this October. We’re still negotiating over location, guest list, payment options, etc. Once we have a guest list (~40), I’ll mail merge a save the date card to them all. I’m not sure what parts of this we’re (KG and me) not going to have to do ourselves but it looks a lot like none from here. I think we trained the family at Christmas that they need to do nothing to ensure that we have excellent events, and now they’re all lining up to do it (nothing.) Oh well, no good deed goes unpunished. Actually, my brother bought all the wine and liquor for Christmas so it’s not the entire family, but there truly are some pikers amongst the rest of the crowd (where did that word come from?)
So, I’m sure I have some work to do.

No, I didn’t have a stroke.

Go Kooch!!

Kucinich Seeks NH Dem Vote Recount
Jan 10 11:15 PM US/Eastern
By STEPHEN FROTHINGHAM
Associated Press Writer

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Democrat Dennis Kucinich, who won less than 2 percent of the vote in the New Hampshire primary, said Thursday he wants a recount to ensure that all ballots in his party’s contest were counted. The Ohio congressman cited “serious and credible reports, allegations and rumors” about the integrity of Tuesday results.

Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said Kucinich is entitled to a statewide recount. But, under New Hampshire law, Kucinich will have to pay for it. Scanlan said he had “every confidence” the results are accurate.

In a letter dated Thursday, Kucinich said he does not expect significant changes in his vote total, but wants assurance that “100 percent of the voters had 100 percent of their votes counted.”

Kucinich alluded to online reports alleging disparities around the state between hand-counted ballots, which tended to favor Sen. Barack Obama, and machine-counted ones that tended to favor Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton. He also noted the difference between pre-election polls, which indicated Obama would win, and Clinton’s triumph by a 39 percent to 37 percent margin.

Candidates who lose by 3 percentage or less are entitled to a recount for a $2,000 fee. Candidates who lose by more must pay for the full cost. Kucinich’s campaign said it was sending the $2,000 fee to start the recount.

Scanlon said his office had received several phone calls since Tuesday, mostly from outside the state, questioning the results. New Hampshire’s voting machines are not linked in any way, which Scanlon says reduce the likelihood of tampering with results on a statewide level. Also, the results can be checked against paper ballots.

“I think people from out of state don’t completely understand how our process works and they compare it to the system that might exist in Florida or Ohio, where they have had serious problems,” he said. “Perhaps the best thing that could happen for us is to have a recount to show the people that … the votes that were cast on election day were accurately reflected in the results. And I have every confidence that will be the case.”

Democratic Votes in New Hampshire

An interesting analysis of hand counted vs. machine counted votes in the New Hampshire primary. 81% of all votes in New Hamphire were counted by Diebold equipment.

It seems there were discrepancies between machine and hand counted votes, they also seem consistent throughout most precincts. I think the Republican numbers are fascinating.

Republican Analysis

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counts

Candidate	Total Votes	Avg. Overall	Votes by Machine	Avg. Overall by Machine	Votes by Hand	Avg. Overall by Hand	Machine VS Hand	Votes by Unknown**	Avg. Overall by Unknown
Clinton	112,166	39.003%	91,600	40.121%	20,529	34.703%	5.419% (15,584 votes*)	37	31.897%
Edwards	48,618	16.906%	38,210	16.736%	10,402	17.584%	-0.847% (-2,437 votes*)	6	5.172%
Gravel	402	0.140%	317	0.139%	85	0.144%	-0.005% (-14 votes*)	0	0.000%
Kucinich	3,893	1.354%	2,801	1.227%	1,090	1.843%	-0.616% (-1,771 votes*)	2	1.724%
Obama	104,639	36.386%	81,633	35.756%	22,944	38.785%	-3.029% (-8,711 votes*)	62	53.448%
Richardson	13,235	4.602%	9,936	4.352%	3,290	5.561%	-1.209% (-3,478 votes*)	9	7.759%
Other	4,627	1.609%	3,810	1.669%	817	1.381%	0.288% (827 votes*)	0	0.000%
TOTALS:	287,580		228,307		59,157			116

*Votes are tentatively won or lost with the assumption that the machines are conferring advantages or disadvantages.
**Unknown towns (where the data doesn’t specify counting method) include: Harts Location, Waterville, Wentworth’s Location

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counted Votes in Small Towns (less than 750 votes)

Candidate	Votes Small Towns	Avg. Overall Small Towns	Votes Small Towns by Machine	Avg. Overall Small Towns by Machine	Votes Small Towns by Hand	Avg. Overall Small Towns by Hand	Machine VS Hand in Small Towns
Clinton	14,753	34.132%	2,167	37.369%	12,549	33.635%	3.733%
Edwards	7,609	17.604%	1,077	18.572%	6,526	17.492%	1.080%
Gravel	69	0.160%	10	0.172%	59	0.158%	0.014%
Kucinich	754	1.744%	65	1.121%	687	1.841%	-0.720%
Obama	16,865	39.018%	2,032	35.041%	14,771	39.591%	-4.550%
Richardson	2,489	5.758%	339	5.846%	2,141	5.739%	0.107%
Other	685	1.585%	109	1.880%	576	1.544%	0.336%
TOTALS:	43,224		5,799		37,309

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counted Votes in Medium Towns (between 750 and 1,500 votes)

Candidate	Votes Medium Towns	Avg. Overall Medium Towns	Votes Medium Towns by Machine	Avg. Overall Medium Towns by Machine	Votes Medium Towns by Hand	Avg. Overall Medium Towns by Hand	Machine VS Hand in Medium Towns
Clinton	23,133	38.600%	17,044	40.233%	6,089	34.662%	5.572%
Edwards	10,805	18.029%	7,706	18.190%	3,099	17.641%	0.549%
Gravel	77	0.128%	55	0.130%	22	0.125%	0.005%
Kucinich	823	1.373%	453	1.069%	370	2.106%	-1.037%
Obama	21,463	35.813%	14,643	34.566%	6,820	38.823%	-4.257%
Richardson	2,847	4.751%	1,853	4.374%	994	5.658%	-1.284%
Other	782	1.305%	609	1.438%	173	0.985%	0.453%
TOTALS:	59,930		42,363		17,567

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counted Votes in Large Towns (more than 1,500 votes)

Candidate	Votes Large Towns	Avg. Overall Large Towns	Votes Large Towns by Machine	Avg. Overall Large Towns by Machine	Votes Large Towns by Hand	Avg. Overall Large Towns by Hand	Machine VS Hand in Large Towns
Clinton	74,280	40.276%	72,389	40.184%	1,891	44.172%	-3.988%
Edwards	30,204	16.377%	29,427	16.335%	777	18.150%	-1.815%
Gravel	256	0.139%	252	0.140%	4	0.093%	0.046%
Kucinich	2,316	1.256%	2,283	1.267%	33	0.771%	0.496%
Obama	66,311	35.955%	64,958	36.059%	1,353	31.605%	4.454%
Richardson	7,899	4.283%	7,744	4.299%	155	3.621%	0.678%
Other	3,160	1.713%	3,092	1.716%	68	1.588%	0.128%
TOTALS:	184,426		180,145		4,281

An interesting blog discussing these findings.

Republican Votes in New Hampshire

An interesting analysis of hand counted vs. machine counted votes in the New Hampshire primary. 81% of all votes in New Hamphire were counted by Diebold equipment.

It seems there were discrepancies between machine and hand counted votes, they also seem consistent throughout most precincts.

Democrat Analysis

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counts

Candidate	Total Votes	Avg. Overall	Votes by Machine	Avg. Overall by Machine	Votes by Hand	Avg. Overall by Hand	Machine VS Hand	Votes by Unknown**	Avg. Overall by Unknown
Giuliani	20,387	8.533%	16,327	8.638%	4,057	8.144%	0.494% (1,180 votes*)	3	3.261%
Huckabee	26,760	11.201%	20,124	10.647%	6,622	13.294%	-2.646% (-6,322 votes*)	14	15.217%
Hunter	1,220	0.511%	930	0.492%	290	0.582%	-0.090% (-215 votes*)	0	0.000%
McCain	88,447	37.021%	68,833	36.419%	19,573	39.293%	-2.874% (-6,867 votes*)	41	44.565%
Paul	18,276	7.650%	13,671	7.233%	4,600	9.235%	-2.001% (-4,781 votes*)	5	5.435%
Romney	75,202	31.477%	62,455	33.044%	12,720	25.536%	7.509% (17,939 votes*)	27	29.348%
Thompson	2,884	1.207%	2,213	1.171%	671	1.347%	-0.176% (-421 votes*)	0	0.000%
Other	5,733	2.400%	4,451	2.355%	1,280	2.570%	-0.215% (-513 votes*)	2	2.174%
TOTALS:	238,909		189,004		49,813			92

*Votes are tentatively won or lost with the assumption that the machines are conferring advantages or disadvantages.

**Unknown towns (where the data doesn’t specify counting method) include: Harts Location, Waterville, Wentworth’s Location

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counted Votes in Small Towns (less than 750 votes)

Candidate	Votes Small Towns	Avg. Overall Small Towns	Votes Small Towns by Machine	Avg. Overall Small Towns by Machine	Votes Small Towns by Hand	Avg. Overall Small Towns by Hand	Machine VS Hand in Small Towns
Giuliani	3,734	8.196%	852	7.876%	2,879	8.309%	-0.433%
Huckabee	5,863	12.869%	1,414	13.071%	4,435	12.800%	0.271%
Hunter	280	0.615%	55	0.508%	225	0.649%	-0.141%
McCain	18,176	39.896%	4,153	38.390%	13,982	40.353%	-1.964%
Paul	4,230	9.285%	998	9.225%	3,227	9.313%	-0.088%
Romney	11,371	24.959%	2,924	27.029%	8,420	24.301%	2.728%
Thompson	657	1.442%	164	1.516%	493	1.423%	0.093%
Other	1,248	2.739%	258	2.385%	988	2.851%	-0.467%
TOTALS:	45,559		10,818		34,649

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counted Votes in Medium Towns (between 750 and 1,500 votes)

Candidate	Votes Medium Towns	Avg. Overall Medium Towns	Votes Medium Towns by Machine	Avg. Overall Medium Towns by Machine	Votes Medium Towns by Hand	Avg. Overall Medium Towns by Hand	Machine VS Hand in Medium Towns
Giuliani	4,906	8.345%	3,841	8.487%	1,065	7.870%	0.618%
Huckabee	7,351	12.504%	5,473	12.094%	1,878	13.877%	-1.783%
Hunter	318	0.541%	260	0.575%	58	0.429%	0.146%
McCain	21,816	37.110%	16,818	37.163%	4,998	36.932%	0.231%
Paul	4,795	8.156%	3,542	7.827%	1,253	9.259%	-1.432%
Romney	17,540	29.836%	13,638	30.136%	3,902	28.833%	1.303%
Thompson	758	1.289%	602	1.330%	156	1.153%	0.178%
Other	1,304	2.218%	1,081	2.389%	223	1.648%	0.741%
TOTALS:	58,788		45,255		13,533

Table Comparing Machine vs Hand Counted Votes in Large Towns (more than 1,500 votes)

Candidate	Votes Large Towns	Avg. Overall Large Towns	Votes Large Towns by Machine	Avg. Overall Large Towns by Machine	Votes Large Towns by Hand	Avg. Overall Large Towns by Hand	Machine VS Hand in Large Towns
Giuliani	11,747	8.730%	11,634	8.752%	113	6.928%	1.824%
Huckabee	13,546	10.067%	13,237	9.958%	309	18.945%	-8.988%
Hunter	622	0.462%	615	0.463%	7	0.429%	0.033%
McCain	48,455	36.009%	47,862	36.005%	593	36.358%	-0.353%
Paul	9,251	6.875%	9,131	6.869%	120	7.357%	-0.488%
Romney	46,291	34.401%	45,893	34.524%	398	24.402%	10.122%
Thompson	1,469	1.092%	1,447	1.089%	22	1.349%	-0.260%
Other	3,181	2.364%	3,112	2.341%	69	4.231%	-1.889%
TOTALS:	134,562		132,931		1,631

An interesting blog discussing these findings.