November 13. 2006 6:03PM
Jennings takes election challenge to court
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SARASOTA COUNTY - As a recount of the Nov. 7 election results proceeded Monday afternoon, attorneys for congressional candidate Christine Jennings filed an emergency petition in Circuit Court to secure all voting machinery and data for possible further investigation.
"The number one goal is to ensure that every voter's intention is recorded and their votes counted," said attorney Jeffrey Liggio.
The petition includes details about a large undervote in the Congressional District 13 race, as well as an affidavit from a computer expert.
The attorneys said it does not mean that the Jennings campaign will automatically be filing a lawsuit.
The district spans five counties. ,The race between Jennings, the Democratic nominee, and Vern Buchanan, the Republican nominee, was especially close. The Florida Department of State reported Monday that Buchanan had a 377 vote lead. In Sarasota County, however, the Nov. 7 results showed Jennings leading Buchanan by more than 6,800 votes.
Yet those tabulations also showed that 18,382 Sarasota County voters -- nearly 12 percent -- cast no ballot in the congressional race. The large undervote sparked concerns about a computer glitch or voter confusion about the county's touchscreen ballot.
