* THis is a major blow to DC Democrats who had hoped to prevent David Gill from winning the Democratic primary for the fourth time. Gill was seen as far less electable against longtime Republican Congressman Tim Johnson, but as of now, Gill is ahead of Matt Goetten by 143 votes…
Unofficial returns, which will not be certified by the State Board of Elections for weeks, give the Bloomington physician 15,507 votes to 15,364 votes for Greene County State’s Attorney Matt Goetten.
Before Macoupin County ballots were counted around 4:30 a.m. today, Gill had a lead of 14,245 to 13,220. Macoupin County Democrats favored Goetten, 2,144 to 1,262. But the margin wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s lead. […]
Gill owed much of his victory to Champaign County Democrats, who gave him a margin of 5,116 votes to 1,365 votes for Goetten. Champaign County voters, who are familiar with Gill from his three previous races against Johnson, gave Gill more than one-third of all of his votes Tuesday. Gill’s campaign had hoped for 72 percent of the votes in Champaign County; he got 75.78 percent. Gill also won by a large margin in McLean County, 805 to 265. But Goetten won in Macon County, 2,678 to 2,632, and in Sangamon County, 1,903 to 1,582.
Goetten was never an A-List candidate. As the NRCC pointed out last night in a press release, the best possible candidates stayed away from this contest even though the district was drawn to be more Democratic.
Anyway, Gill has declared victory…
Bloomington physician David Gill has a narrow lead over primary opponent Matt Goetten with all precincts reporting Wednesday morning.
Unofficial totals have Gill with 15,507 votes to Goetten’s 15,364 votes. Macoupin County made up the last 61 precincts to come in after 4 a.m. Wednesday, and Goetten won the county handily with 2,144 votes to Gill’s 1,262.
But it apparently wasn’t enough to overcome Gill’s margin. However, absentee ballots mailed on time can be counted up to 14 days after the election.
Goetten’s campaign could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday morning.
Macoupin hand-counted votes last night. It was slow as slow can be down there. Just ten minutes or so before the county finished counting, Gill sent out a harsh press release, which probably highlighted his not ready for primetime character…
Dr David Gill Questions Elections Process in Macoupin County
“At this point, we must seriously question the validity, transparency and accuracy of the elections process in Macoupin County. Right now, I lead in this election by 4 points and 1025 votes, but it doesn’t matter. This about the democratic process and being able to have basic faith in our election system.
“There are serious questions with how this process is being handled in Macoupin County.
Who decided to count the ballots by hand?
What process and procedures did they follow?
Has there been an uninterrupted and verified chain of custody?
Were there witnesses present for every part of the process and to monitor all handling of the ballots?
How were the results tabulated?
Was the media present?
Was law enforcement involved?
Was a legal opinion sought by the County Clerk for the proper course of action for this unprecedented process? Why was there no press conference or public announcement?
In 2000, Americans saw a president selected in this country and citizens disenfranchised because of a flawed election process and political dealmaking in Florida.
How can this possibly be happening in Illinois 12 years later?
At this point I believe the best course of action is for a judge to order the impounding of all ballots in Macoupin County until a process and equipment can be determined to properly count these ballots electronically, overseen by a judge and open to the media and observers. Anything less is undermining our basic democratic rights.
Discuss.
*** UPDATE *** A letter sent to Gill by the Macoupin County Clerk…
March 21, 2012
Dr. David Gill
Congressional Candidate
13th Congressional District
Dear Dr. Gill:
I have read your press release issued early this morning. I appreciate the scrutiny being placed on my Office because as the chief election authority of Macoupin County it is my responsibility to make certain that the great American freedom of the individual right to vote is protected. First and foremost, all procedures were completed in conjunction with the State Board of Elections. Because of the unprecedented problem that was being experienced by dozens of counties across the state, I ensured that the process here was conducted in a manner that not only met legal standards, but went above and beyond to guarantee accuracy and transparency in the voting process.
The procedure put in place required that any precinct experiencing any problem was immediately checked in and ballots, tabulators and official ballot records were taken to experienced Democrat and Republican election judges. These judges then individually ran each ballot through the tabulator, verifying that the total count on the tabulator reflected the ballot being read and counted. Overseeing this process were two representatives from the State Board of Elections, an Assistant State’s Attorney of Macoupin County, the Democrat and Republican County Chairmen, nearly all candidates (or their representatives) in contested races, members of the media, as well as any member of the general public who wished to be present. This was the process from start to finish. No one was denied access.
Every step of this process was done to promote accuracy and continue to promote a fair and unbiased election process in Macoupin County. Macoupin County’s Democrat and Republican election judges as well as members of my staff worked tirelessly all day and night to make sure that every vote was counted and done so properly. I know it was a long night for everyone and sometimes tensions arise; however, my office, as always, took any necessary steps in providing an open vote tabulation process. During my time as County Clerk I have worked with others to ensure open government by placing our county checkbook and monthly board meeting minutes online and have been recognized by local news outlets for these types of efforts toward transparency.
As always, I will make myself available to you, any candidate, or any taxpayer should you have questions about how this election was administered by the dedicated staff in my office and all election judges.
Sincerely,
Pete Duncan
Macoupin County Clerk
- Tom - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:03 am:
Don’t you usually wait to see if you lost before screaming for a Judge to get involved?
Did he not see any news accounts of issues during the day?
Did no one from his campaign call the County Clerk and see how they were going to handle the ballot issue?
How many questions can I ask?
- ILPundit - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:04 am:
Did Goetten forget Champaign County is in the district? Having been on the ballot previously isn’t enough to explain getting blown out 5-1 in one of the biggest counties in the state.
- Interested - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:07 am:
Champaign county was too far for Goetten to travel. Even being the DCCC hand picked candidate, he was a lackluster campaigner and always seemed bored at events.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:12 am:
Gill’s landslide there doesn’t surprise me.
Champaign County has a large progressive activist community, and unlike liberals elsewhere, they understand the importance of a field operation and GOTV.
- Aldyth - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:26 am:
The answer to my comment in “Question of the Day” is right here. It didn’t take long for the conspiracy theories to start.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:31 am:
Ok, Dr. Gill this is speculative on my part but I have enough tally experience to draw some conclusions on what the answers might be…
Who decided to count the ballots by hand? –
Likely the county clerk in consultation with staff.
What process and procedures did they follow? —
My guess, they had two judges one from each party bring the ballots into the office. Likely using the same sealed envelope they were originally given for the same task (that’s right, in most locations after the ballots are run into the machine they still bring them in). Then the envelope is opened by a tally judge from each party and the ballots are counted. (likely at least twice or as many times as it takes for the counts to match).
– Has there been an uninterrupted and verified chain of custody? See above…
– Were there witnesses present for every part of the process and to monitor all handling of the ballots? Assuming the county uses the same tally process as every other election entity I have ever done tally stuff for (yes it is more than one). You are lucky if you get to use the head without someone from the other party with you.
– Was the media present?
Unlikely, since the advent of the internet and internet reporting virtually no media are at counting locations any more
– Was a legal opinion sought by the County Clerk for the proper course of action for this
unprecedented process? Why was there no press conference or public announcement? I am going to guess that a legal opinion was sought, it may not have been from the states attorney since the clerk likely has access to election counsel with more experience in this area of law than the states attorneys office, if nothing else they are going to ask to avoid guys like you complaining.. As for calling a press conference, dude, seriously? On election day dealing with this issue and all the other issues that come up on election day, questions from election judges, where do I vote questions, etc. the last thing the county clerk has time to do in a county of 47K people is call a press conference.
Easy, a printer made a mistake. I get you are a doctor and everything, you ever have to deal with a mistake some else has made? People are human, mistakes are made. That’s how this happened… Get over yourself. I am sure the county clerk has better things to do than be part of some plan to jerk you over…
Or perhaps it is all part of a big plan…
- The Captain - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:37 am:
DCCC wanted this one bad. They don’t consider Gill a serious candidate so today is the last day this race will be in the news.
- LincolnLounger - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:39 am:
I’m thinking the Gill temper tantrum over Macoupin should be chalked up to exhaustion and frustration; however, I’m guessing they don’t forget quite so quickly down there.
I’m surprised Durbin put his name on the line and didn’t follow through for Goetten. Not his usual course of action.
As for the ballot size problem, I don’ understand it. How were these problems not identified through early voting and testing by the election authorities? How did this “trusted” vendor screw up so badly (apparently)? How much federal dollars were thrown out in grants helping to identify problems with ballot design/access, etc.?
I don’t think it’s a grand conspiracy, but it is all very strange.
- OneMan - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 11:58 am:
LincolnLounger — I suspect in most places early voting is done on the touch screen machines so no paper. It is easier to do it that way. So that is why early voting didn’t catch it.
- Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 12:20 pm:
If the DCCC would step in and work with Gill, they would have a decent shot at winning the district. Their first mistake was running Goetten, who appears to have thought he would be carried to victory instead of supporting Gill who is known and liked and has a good ground operation in a sizable chunk of the district. Gill would be a great candidate to speak to one of the big issues: health care. He also knows the district very well and has run a couple of decent campaigns on his own. Unfortunately, the DC people don’t like to work with a candidate who has his/her own ideas. I suspect Gill is smart enough to work with the DC folks, but I wounder if they are smart enough to work with him?
- The Captain - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 12:32 pm:
Pck, the last time Gill faces Johnson, Johnson was so afraid of Gill that he hired a total of one staffer for his campaign. Gill can’t raise the money to make a serious effort so the DCCC will focus on the candidates that can. Harriman is far too decent to have asked for this outcome but it certainly works to his benefit.
- OurMagician - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 12:37 pm:
There are parts of the district that a Durbin endorsement is seen as a drag not a help, Goetten didn’t seem to understand that.
- ILPundit - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 12:39 pm:
YDD - Perhaps Champaign Urbana is different, but my general experience in downstate college towns is that the “progressive liberal” community tend to excel at offering advice and critiquing from the sidelines, and have little enthusiasm for the nitty gritty.
Either way - you don’t run up a 5-1 margin on field alone. The only way that happens is if Goetten was invisible in that county — which points to some sort of political malpractice.
- Pot calling kettle - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 12:58 pm:
==the last time Gill faces Johnson, Johnson was so afraid of Gill that he hired a total of one staffer for his campaign==
Just what would be expected in a district Johnson drew for himself. When the Dems drew the new district to be more Dem friendly, they also had one where Gill has some name recognition and a support crew in place. The money issue is more DC silliness. Gill did poorly in the past, because who would put money in to a District Johnson drew for himself. This time around, Gill has done pretty well, especially considering that he was not supported by the DCCC.
- The old professor - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 1:19 pm:
Johnson has always been more interested in constituent service than in legislative matters. This isn’t going to help him very much with the block of new voters who don’t know him. He is ranked as the 4th least conservative R congressman, and he endorsed Ron Paul. In addition to the controversy about whether he signed the Grover Norquist anti-tax pledge (he said he didn’t, GN produced the signed document), he signed a term-limit pledge, which he’s ignored. Longtime veterans will also remember the paper-clip story. This will be a fun race.
- Jersey Dem - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 1:28 pm:
Really bad move Mr. Gill. Macoupin Dems are back in the saddle with Andy Manar on the ticket and taking a very public shot at their 26 year old county clerk and Manar ally is NOT good politics. The Dem machine that makes other Downstate Dems green with envy is fired up this year, my guess is that they won’t forget this.
- Yellow Dog Democrat - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 1:47 pm:
@ILPundit -
Yes, Champaign-Urbana is different.
Democrats there have a love-hate relationship with Madigan.
They think he’s too conservative.
At the same time, progressives there canvass precincts not once or twice, but three times to ID voters. They register voters, some years as many as 5000 on campus. And they fight tooth-and-nail to turn them out on Election Day with pollwatchers, canvassers, phone banks and even passers.
That said, Gill was on his third time around. Prosecutors tend not to do so well in black neighborhoods — mainly because they don’t campaign there. And it wouldn’t surprise me if Gotten was a bit too far to the right for Champaign-Urbana.
Tim Johnson outlived his usefulness before he’d even left the Illinois House. That said, he campaigns like a fiend, or atleast used to.
Gill would be a fool to consider himself anything but an underdog, no matter what the map.
- Aaron - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 2:00 pm:
Johnson is a for sure bet for reelection now.
Durbin could have put some money behind Goetten, but I doubt the Washington people will support Gill. He’s a tireless campaigner, but Johnson refused to debate him in 2010, and I don’t see why he should now. Gill will have his pet liberal issues, but most of them won’t play. Plus, Gill needs to get outside of Champaign County, where he and Johnson, who is from Urbana, have big bases. I’m not sure he can do it.
I voted for Goetten, even though I saw him stumble in person at the WILL-TV debate, simply to see someone else take on Johnson, who I might just vote for in November. Gill’s doctor-not-a-politician shtick is stale in the middle of a fourth run.
- WantingaChange - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 2:08 pm:
It doesn’t suprise me that Gill immediately jumped the gun and wanted to go on a rampage against someone. That’s how his entire campaign has been against Goetten. He’s always on the attack instead of focusing on the real issues that are affecting the citizens of Central Illinois (such as jobs, the economy). He and most of his supporters are too far left to relate to the Democrats outside of Champaign. Johnson will have no problem defeating him again for the 4th time. Its unfortunate Goetten didn’t win. May there be hope for him in 2014.
- ILPundit - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 2:09 pm:
My guess is the DCCC gives up on Johnson and goes all in on Harriman. There is no way Gill can win that district, and its a waste of money to try.
- Boone's is Back - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 2:13 pm:
God Gill has been running for Congress since I was in college there. Is the doctor ever gonna declare a time of death?
- In 630 - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 3:05 pm:
In a parallel universe John Laesch nearly ended up being northern Illinois’ version of Gill, had he up-ended Foster. Candidate with strong appeal to the local activist types, who can mount a certain kind of campaign, but has zero capacity to actually win an election.
- Esteban - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 3:17 pm:
I signed up on Matt Goetten’s web site as a
volunteer for him. I’ve known his dad since
the early 70’s and wanted to help “for old times
sake”.
NO ONE from his campaign ever contacted me except
with email solicitations for a donation.
- hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 3:32 pm:
@Boone’s Is Back -
For all Gill’s faults, at least the doctor has the guts and drive to run which is more than you can say from so many lazy and/or scaredy-cat pols in that district who would have been better candidates than Gill but decided not to run. Maybe folks are tired of Gill, but at least he gave the people of Central Illinois a choice by mounting a campaign at all. I remember when *I* was a student in IL-13 and after Kelleher failed in 2000 and Johnson got his shiny new gerrymander, no credible candidate could even be bothered to step forward for the Dems so that Johnson’s biggest challenger was a Green Party professor.
- hisgirlfriday - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 4:01 pm:
@WantingAChange
What is so great about Goetten that makes you want him back in 2014 when by that point he would just be another retread like Gill? Why did he fail so miserably in Gill’s territory while Gill managed to keep the margins manageable in Metro East?
Isn’t there anyone who can come out of Macon County to bridge the gap between the liberal Champaign County Dems and the blue dogs down in Metro East?
Was wondering about Winston Taylor for this district (if our better angels could prevail) after seeing his close run against Scherer and from reading his bio as a former U of I football player, Decatur kid, Springfield official that would seem to be useful ties throughout much of the district, but a speech of his on YouTube doesn’t really knock my socks off.
*sigh*
If Gill doesn’t win maybe I’ll push my brother or sister-in-law to run in 2014, although in doing so I’ll feel a bit of guilt as an aunt to their children.
- Rahm's Parking Meter - Wednesday, Mar 21, 12 @ 4:11 pm:
@In 630, you know who one of Gill’s former campaign managers is? John Laesch!!
- ultra - Thursday, Mar 22, 12 @ 1:26 am:
I listened to Goetten debate Gill on WILL-radio, and I wasn’t impressed with him at all. He was a poor debater and too conservative. Therefore, it doesn’t surprise me in the least that he lost by an overwhelming margin in Champaign County. He came across to me as some kind of war hawk who was against cutting the defense budget and in favor of making “tough decisions” on social programs. On defense-related and foreign policy issues, he is more conservative than the Republican candidate, Tim Johnson.
There’s no way I will ever vote for Goetten in the general election this fall. Fortunately, David Gill appears to have defeated him. As far as I’m concerned, the DCCC got the kick in the rear-end that it deserved.