Recount, lawsuits could leave 2 seats vacant in the House next year

The latest blow for Democrats came on Monday, when Iowa officials certified Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks as the winner of her race after a recount found her leading Democrat Rita Hart by just six votes out of 394,000 vote – or 0.002 percentage point.

“When we started this recount, Rita Hart was down 47 votes,” Hart campaign manager Zach Meunier said on Monday. “As more and more Iowans’ voices were heard, the margin has shrunk considerably and is now reduced to just 6 votes – making it the closest congressional race to the recent history and one of the closest in the last hundred years.

Hart has signaled that she intends to launch a legal challenge, a decision that will further prolong the race and possibly put the House in the awkward position of having to decide which woman to sit. Miller-Meeks, ophthalmologist and state senator, is making his fourth run for the district after three failed tries.

A recount has yet to begin in New York, where the disorganized and decentralized electoral system has blurred the outcome of the close revenge between Brindisi and former GOP Representative Claudia Tenney, currently separated by a dozen votes. But more than a thousand ballots remain in dispute or numberless, including a large number of provisional ballots, according to tally from the two campaigns.

After dragging on election night, a flurry of postal votes helped Brindisi close the gap – although the various reporting processes by the counties in the district made the process less than transparent. A New York state judge reviews the updated county vote totals Monday afternoon before setting out next steps, which could include a recanvass. Both Tenney and Brindisi have issued statements projecting optimism.

“Our campaign is committed to making all – and only – legal votes count,” said Sean Kennedy, a spokesperson for Tenney. “The will of the voters must be respected and the integrity of the electoral process must be preserved. We are confident Claudia will be the winner when all is said and done.

Brindisi and Hart have both retained an attorney from Perkins Coie, the leading Democratic law firm for the election – a sign that they are preparing for a lengthy legal process. Perkins Coie’s chief electoral officer, Marc Elias, is a recount expert who successfully led Democrat Al Franken’s efforts in the 2008 Senate race in Minnesota. Franken trailed around 200 votes after the initial count but then passed Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) In a recount.

Hart’s campaign already says it will challenge the result, noting in a statement that “the recount process was designed to count the ballots that had already been counted, meaning that other legal ballots were not counted. ‘may not have been counted yet. ” Hart has two days to challenge under state law now that the Iowa Board of Canvass has certified Miller-Meeks’ victory.

His challenge would be referred to a judicial panel, which will include the Supreme Chief Justice of the state of Iowa, to determine the winner of the contest. Hart could also file an appeal directly with the House, a step likely to be taken as a last resort.

The House could decline to sit Miller-Meeks and create a committee to consider the matter. If Hart files a competition under the Federal Contested Election Act, the House Administration Committee will claim jurisdiction.

If the result holds, Republicans will control three of Iowa’s four congressional districts after holding only one after 2018. mid-term. That seat, in particular, was a white whale for Republicans who hadn’t been able to reclaim it since Dave Loebsack, then little-known political science professor, won it in a 2006 upheaval.

Loebsack decided to retire after that cycle, creating a premier battleground that President Donald Trump won in 2016 after President Barack Obama wore it twice. Democrats moved quickly to consolidate behind Hart, a farmer and state senator who was the party’s candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018. Miller-Meeks, whom Loebsack defeated in 2008, 2010 and 2014, has defeated former Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.) in the GOP primary.

The contested election in Iowa is much closer to a resolution than that in New York, where a judge has yet to mandate a review. State Supreme Court Justice Scott DelConte is expected to rule on the disputed absent and provisional votes in the coming days, which could tip the final tally in favor of either candidate.

“The integrity of the election and maintaining a tally that ensures that voters in this district are heard is of the utmost importance,” Luke Jackson, a campaign spokesperson for Brindisi, said in a statement. communicated. “We hope that once the scoring is over Anthony will be declared the winner.”

The photo ends in Iowa and New York reflects the controversial partisan battle after the 1984 election, when the Democratic-controlled House refused to sit as Republican challenger to incumbent Rep. Frank McCloskey (D-Ind.). Indiana Secretary of State certified Republican Richard McIntyre as the winner after a partial recount, but after an objection under the Federal Contested Elections Act, McIntyre did not sit in the House.

A recount by the Congressional General Accounting Office found McCloskey the winner by four votes, and the House voted – largely along party lines – for the seat, sparking a heated protest from Republicans, who were deeply in the minority.

Sarah Ferris contributed to this report.