This video is of a typical Foster County Commissioners Meeting with Paul Straley and Auditor Teresa Risovi running the show... and ignoring/rebuffing Jim Carr's requests. Carr was concerned that Donnie Theis be acknowledged and be allowed to have a recount of the Primary Election absentee ballot votes which were so mismanaged by Risovi. The vote was so close between Straley and Theis that a recount might place Theis on the ballot for the November general election instead of PaulStraley. It is reported that the members of the canvassing board had requested Risovi's legal opinion regarding some unsigned absentee ballots whereupon she had no problem informing the board to allow these invalid votes to be counted for Straley. Interestingly, the new votes for Straley meant that Theis would not be allowed to ask for a recount.
On Tuesday, shortly after the commissioners' meeting, State's Attorney Paul Murphy said he contacted the Secretary of State regarding these unsigned absentee ballots. From what we've been told, the Secretary of State's office immediately instructed Risovi to disallow these pro-Straley ballots. UPDATE 6/20/14 Correction & Explanation: The Secretary of State's office did NOT say to disallow the ballots. They said that unsigned absentee ballots are invalid and that they SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED - according to the ND Century Code. However, the Sec of State HAS TO accept the canvassing board's report. Therefore, since the canvassing board listened to Risovi and accepted the two unsigned absentee ballots - contrary to the clear requirements of the ND Century Code - they count toward the election. So, the only way Donnie Theis can get a recount is to sue Foster County, saying that the canvassing board should have rejected the two unsigned ballots. At this date, we don't know if Theis has decided to sue the county or not.]
If Donnie Theis follows through on his request for a recount, it will be extremely interesting to see what other invalid votes might appear. Many of us are definitely suspicious of Risovi's attempt to deny Theis' request for a recount of the absentee ballots. We are wondering... is there something about the ballots that Risovi and Straley are trying to hide?
WOW! 0bama could learn some things from this crew...
ReplyDeleteJust a reminder: Kathleen Murray, Wells County State's Attorney, is the one who wrote a message to Auditor Risovi which helped her negotiate her $50,000 salary with Foster County (while Murray was serving as Assistant State's Attorney to Foster County). It will be interesting to see if Murray accepts Risovi's invitation to be on the November ballot for Foster County State's Attorney. If she is, then doesn't that make Risovi's mismanagement/mess-up with the absentee ballots even more suspicious?
ReplyDeleteUpdate: Secretary of State Jaeger is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the absentee ballots in question, and the Bureau Of Investigation has been in Carrington this week interviewing people and looking into the situation.
ReplyDeleteUpdate: The Foster County Canvassing Board is in the process of reconvening to take another look at the two controversial absentee ballots. They just set a date, July 28, 2014, at 1:00 p.m. to reconvene. If they decide, as the Election Board did, that the two ballots are invalid, then Donnie Theis can request a recount of the absentee ballots.
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