NM Recount Sought by Green, Libertarian Candidates - Can You Help?

According to an article in today's Albuquerque Journal, Green Party nominee David Cobb and Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik have requested a statewide presidential race recount in New Mexico of paper ballots in all precincts, as well as a reexamination of voting machines to check for potential problems. The recount will not include provisional ballots, according to Denise Lamb of the Election Bureau. Moreover, it's unlikely the recount will be finished before the December 13th meeting of NM's presidential electors to cast the state's five electoral votes.

According to the Journal, New Mexico's official election returns certified by the state canvassing board show Bush with 376,930 votes (49.8%), Kerry with 370,942 votes (49%), Badnarik with 2,382 votes (0.3%) and Cobb with 1,226 votes (0.2%) .

MoveOn PAC has sent out an email requesting help with the recount:

"The recount will proceed separately in each of New Mexico's 33 counties, and in order to ensure the counting is fair, the Cobb campaign plans to have volunteers supervise the counting. That will require several volunteers in each county all day for a number of days, and the campaign has asked MoveOn PAC for help.

"Can you offer a couple hours, a full day, or even several days to help protect democracy in New Mexico and make sure the final count is fair and accurate? If so, click here to get involved.

"The recount process will be determined by the Secretary of State as well as county officials. They have yet to announce when it will start, what the process will be, whether it will run only during business hours or over the weekend, etc.

"So, the campaign is signing up a volunteer corps now to be prepared to leap into action the moment the recount details are revealed. They will provide training to volunteers, but it's not that difficult: you'll just watch as officials count the ballots to make sure nothing looks fishy.

"We'll pass your name and contact information to the Cobb campaign if you sign up, so they can give you more information on what to do next. Technically, you will act as an official representative of the Cobb-LaMarche Green Party campaign when you observe the counting."