Sep 20, 2006 6:32 pm US/Eastern
Ballots Left Uncounted In Wilkerson Primary
BOSTON (CBS4) ―
Boston election officials say votes in eight of the 73 precincts in the Second Suffolk State Senatorial District
were inadvertently sealed before they were counted.
Without the votes, officials say they are unable to determine a winner of the closely-watched write-in campaign involving Dianne Wilkerson and Sonia Chang-Diaz. Wilkerson finished just 141 votes ahead.
A Superior Court judge has ordered those votes to be unsealed and tallied. A new count will take place Thursday afternoon at Boston City Hall.
The sealed votes came from the following Wards and Precincts: Ward 4, Precinct 9, Ward 10, Precinct 9, Ward 12, Precincts 1 and 2, Ward 14, Precincts 3, 8 and 9, and Ward 19, Precinct 3.
Wilkerson was forced to mount a write-in campaign after failing to obtain the 300 signatures she needed to get her name on the primary ballot.
Wilkerson declared victory Wednesday morning despite finishing just 141 votes ahead of Sonia Chang-Diaz.
During an interview on WBZ radio Wednesday, Wilkerson said she was confident that she would remain the winner.
"I think it's just putting off another day what I believe is going to be the inevitable," she said.
Melissa Threadgill, a spokeswoman for Chang-Diaz, said the campaign had been considering calling for a recount before the uncounted votes were discovered.
"If there are uncounted votes as the secretary of state's office said, they should be counted," Threadgill said. "We've said all along that every vote should be counted."
According to the unofficial results, Wilkerson won 5,466 votes, or 48 percent, to Chang-Díaz's 5,325 votes, or 46 percent. Another write-in candidate, John Kelleher, a Jamaica Plain Democrat, took 393 votes, or 3 percent; and Republican Samiyah Diaz won, 275 votes, or 2 percent.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Complete Primary Results
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments