Begich leads Stevens by a three-vote margin

[mrJJ]

Begich takes lead over Stevens

Democrat Mark Begich has taken his first lead of the election over scandal-plagued Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) as absentee votes continue to be counted by Alaska elections officials.

With about 41,000 absentee votes tabulated today, Begich leads Stevens by a three-vote margin, 125,019 votes to 125,016. There are still about 50,000 outstanding absentee ballots left to be counted.

Stay tuned...

By Josh Kraushaar 07:46 PM

http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1108/Begich_takes_lead_over_Stevens.html

[thereismore]

1. OK, now let's sue to stop the recound. We've got precedent. nt

[AndyTiedye]

3. The More Absentees they Count, The Better It Gets

[thereismore]

2. I guess that means absentee ballots are breaking in Begich's favor. Keep it up. nt

[Oregone]

4. Why would Absentees favor the Democrat?

Didn't these come in before the Stevens conviction? Aren't these from older, more conservative voters who may not be able to make it to the polls? Any explanations?

[LSdemocrat]

5. Apparently Alaska Dems were encouraging absentee voting

http://www.ktuu.com/global/story.asp?s=9327256

"The state Democratic Party believes Begich has a good chance of winning when all the votes are finally counted.

"We had a really big drive to get out the vote early, to have people vote absentee, and vote absentee in-person," Bethany Lesser of the Alaska Democratic Party said. "Mark Begich won the early votes that have come in already by 59 percent, and that's all he needs to do to win."

[Arctic Dave]

6. Lots of people work in remote places

and the democratic campaigns made a huge effort to vote early. The real suprise in the counts is the military is breaking more Democratic.

How you like those apples Bush?

[Boo Boo]

7. Some might say the worm is turning...

I say he's twisting in the wind!