Thursday, May 23, 2013

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Anchorage Assembly Certifies Municipal Election
Three assembly members voted not to certify the election
By KTVA CBS 11 News


ANCHORAGE - It has been called the most chaotic election in municipal history and the Anchorage Assembly voted 8 to 3, Thursday night, to certify the results.

It has been nearly a month since ballot shortages and machine malfunctions plagued the April 3 election and many voters said they were disenfranchised.

But the assembly followed the advice of independent counsel Timothy Petumenos – the independent investigator during the troopergate scandal during the governor Sarah Palin administration.

Petumenos said the assembly has a duty to certify the election unless it finds that misconduct, fraud or corruption affected the outcome.

Assembly member Patrick Flynn, along with members Harriet Drummond and Elvi Gray-Jackson, voted not to certify the election.

“So I'm stuck in a very difficult position here. I can either vote to uphold the law or I can vote to uphold what's right because the law currently is wrong,” Flynn said.

One group of voters though disagrees with Petumenos' municipal findings.

The group said an investigation should be launched into what caused ballot shortages and machine failures.

Attorney Hal Gazaway is leading the group and he has filed a request for the votes to be hand counted.

Even though the election was certified, a recount is expected to take place at a later date.