Election results show mathematically impossible number of votes cast!

CANTON, New York - November 30, 2009 - The election results certified by the St. Lawrence County Board of Elections for New York’s 23^rd Congressional District contain some numbers that are mathematically impossible. These numbers were requested in person and transmitted by e-mail just hours before certification on Tuesday, November 24, 2009.

For six election districts in St. Lawrence County (the 2^nd, 4^th, 6^th and 7^th districts in Canton, the 14^th district in Massena, and the 2^nd district in Oswegatchie), negative numbers appear in the column for “blank” ballots, known in other states as “undervotes.”

Blank vote counts are ballots in which the voter did not choose any candidate in a given election and are determined by subtracting the total number of votes cast for the candidates from the number of voters who completed ballots.  The remaining number would be those voters who didn't cast a vote for that election.