It may have taken two weeks, but incumbent Mitch Lindemann was officially declared winner in the Douglas City Council Ward 2 race following a recount.
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Unofficial results after the March 9 election had Richard Lopez defeating Lindemann by a tally of 68-61. But by Thursday, those numbers had been adjusted to take into account Early Ballots turned into the polls and provisional ballots. Following those additions, it had Lindemann winning by a single vote, 69-68.
The recount didn’t change the final numbers by a single vote
Following canvassing the election last Tuesday, March 16, the city sought and received approval for for a recount from the Cochise County Superior Court.
Following the canvass, the final tallies for Wards 4 and 6 were:
√ Ward 4, Frank Ambriz, 101; Ray Shelton, 114.
√ Ward 6, Jose L. Acedo, 42; Rudy “Popo” Quinonez, 90.
At that point the city issued a Certificate of Election to incumbent Shelton and former councilman Quinonez.
Comments
Former Student wrote on Apr 1, 2010 2:06 PM:
R Martin wrote on Mar 30, 2010 1:36 PM:
Thanks for your feedback.
embarrassment is spelled with an E not an I.
I would argue that Popo did nothing.
Mr. Acedo at least had the courage to stand before the voters and take their questions and express his point of view. Popo did not even have the courage to show up to the open forum and face the voters. But it appears the people voted on what was not said than on what was said. Mr Acedo has a great heart and had the best interest of the voters in mind when he represented Ward 6 and he will as long as he is a resident of Douglas. It is all water under the bridge now. We will see what Popo can do in the next four years. I hope he can represent Ward 6 and make it a better place to live because we will be watching. "
city worker wrote on Mar 29, 2010 1:36 PM:
It is an imbarresment that Luis Acedo t believing his apponent voted twice when he lost with so many votes against him. Do you not know Popo has a grandson with the same name? Get yourself together man,and stop following those ignorant people. I voted for Popo because you did nothing to make me believe you knew what you were doing or for what you stood for. You never showed any strength and you seemed disoriented in every subject that was discussed. You are afraid to express what you believe in because of your store and your friends. "
Relieved wrote on Mar 28, 2010 9:49 AM:
Everybody knows that Fernandez and Gomez were working hard against you and Mr. Shelton so they would have their cronies/puppets to back their narrow selfish agenda. They don't really care about Douglas! Its bad enough that Fernandez works for and is paid by AP! The public sees that as a blatant conflict of interest. He needs to step down!! "
R Martin wrote on Mar 24, 2010 7:59 PM:
There is clear and convincing evidence that the past Douglas City Council elections were marred by considerable absentee ballot voter fraud. This is a trick out of an old book to disenfranchise voters used in the mid 90's. In the recent Douglas City Council elections irregularities were so blatant that a candidate voted twice for himself, once at the precinct and once with an absentee ballot. There is also clear indication of additional irregularities such as votes being cast from individuals outside of their ward and indications of deliberate absentee voter fraud. Why does this happen you ask? Because no one has challenged the status quo and those who commit this fraud know that the results will not be questioned. They are banking on the fact that no one will go to the extent of getting a lawyer, challenging the election, paying an enormous legal bill just to win a seat on the city council.
It is time that the people of Douglas stand up and be heard. We call on the Cochise County Elections Committee and the Arizona Secretary of State to once and for all put in place measure to stop this blatant abuse of voter fraud. We also call on state and federal officials, as well as civil rights leaders to come to Douglas and ensure a fair and honest election.
It is time that this fraud be exposed for its simplicity. It is also time to educate the public so they are informed and can identify the process so they do not become victims of losing what is constitutional their right to cast a vote and have it count in the determination of the outcome of an election.
The typical absentee ballot fraud follows this methodology:
1. The fraud begins with the vote-fraud conspira¬tor filing an application requesting an absentee ballot for a voter either by forging the voter's signature on the application or obtaining the voter's signature through coercion, trickery, or bribery. Applications are freely distributed to anyone who asks for them, so this gives offend¬ers easy and ready access to the forms needed to obtain ballots.
2. Upon receipt of the application, the election official mails the absentee ballot and the voter affidavit to the mailing address listed on the appli¬cation, which is either the true voter's address or an address controlled by the conspirator.
3. Since election officials usually post the names of registered voters who have been sent absentee ballots (and the date on which the ballots were sent), the conspirator knows when the mailed ballots will arrive and can intercept them; in other cases, the absentee ballots are sent to addresses directly controlled by the conspirator.
4. The absentee ballot is completed by the con¬spirator and the voter's signature forged, or the voter signs and completes the ballot as directed, or some combination thereof.
5. The ballot is then either mailed or hand-deliv¬ered by the conspirator to the election official
Amazingly there is no recourse for the average voter other than to hire a lawyer to challenge the election. This is not only costly ($20,000.00) but intimidating to those not familiar with the process. The only way to prove absentee voter fraud is to gain access to the absentee voter request and see what addresses the request were sent to. Then go to those residents and canvas to ensure voters actually voted. The Cochise County Election is not staffed to do this and it is not their responsibility. AZ election statutes need to be revised and the Citizens Clean Elections Commission needs to be given jurisdiction down to the city level so they can oversee election processes and results.
by Ron Martin "
Discouraged Citizen wrote on Mar 24, 2010 3:11 PM: