Philadelphia and other Elections: Updates and Irregularities

posted by ewing2001 on Tuesday November 04, @01:49PM

Incidents mar Philadelphia election day

FortWayne.com -November 4

As voting continued throughout the city today, a court injunction and 36 reports of incidents at the polls higlighted the contentious nature of the mayor's race.

Mayor Street's campaign officials went to court and obtained an emergency injunction against a Katz supporter who was asking to see voters' identification before they entered the polls.

By early afternoon, police had recorded 36 incidents at polling places. They included disturbances, acts of threats, harrassment, assaults and vandalism.

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One of the more serious cases occurred at Front and Gladstone Streets in South Philadelphia when a 39-year-old man wearing a Sam Katz shirt, and passing out Katz flyers, allegedly was struck on the left elbow by a two-by-four wielded by a man on a bicycle. As the man rode away, he yelled: "It's all for Street," the victim told police. The victim was taken to St. Agnes Hospital for evaluation.

The day began on a tense note, when, shortly after the polls opened at 7 a.m., Republican candidate Sam Katz began complaining about violence against his supporters, as well as Election Day mishaps that appeared too organized to be coincidental.

Katz said that one of his supporters was punched in the mouth at a polling place near the University of Pennsylvania when that supporter asked a Street supporter to stop sticking pro-Street signs on top of pro-Katz signs.

Dr. Frank Cornett got treatment at an emergency room for the laceration. The alleged assailant fled and no immediate arrests were made, police said.

“That’s not usually part of voting where I come from,” said Cornett, 46, a Las Vegas native.

In addition, Katz said that in one division in the 63rd Ward, which is in the city's Fox Chase section in the Northeast, the wrong voting binder was delivered -- which means that in another voting division, a wrong voting binder was delivered.

Also, in Roxborough, Katz said he had heard that voting machines were broken. And in the 29th Ward, he said one of the Republican inspectors was denied access into the polling place.

Poll Irregularities in Mississippi

talkingpointsmemo.com -November 4

Talking points memo has posted this document by Mississippi sec. of State Eric Sparks about several reported instances of poll watchers videotaping voters in minority districts.

Street wins re-election

Philly.com -November 4

It's Street in a walk.

John Street easily won re-election as mayor of Philadelphia tonight, trouncing his Republican rival Sam Katz.

With nearly 62 percent of the vote reported, Street had a 20-point lead over Katz. That was expected to narrow as the night went on and more returns filtered in.

But, the mayor's lead was insurmountable. Philadelphia voters have returned the Democratic mayor to power for a second term.

Republican Wins Kentucky; Mississippi Close

Nov. 4 — By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican won the Kentucky governor's office for the first time in more than three decades on Tuesday and early results showed a tight battle for governor in Mississippi as voters cast ballots in state and local elections.

The two governor's races and Democratic Mayor John Street's scandal-scarred re-election win in Philadelphia highlighted contests that could begin to set the political tone for 2004, when the White House and control of Congress are at stake.

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