Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman may have conceded the election to his Democratic opponent, but it appears he’s still in the running for New York’s 23rd Congressional District seat. The Syracuse Post-Standard reports that a re-canvassing of the district’s 11 counties found irregularities in the vote count. It also says that a recent law extending the deadline for counting military absentee ballots was not observed – 1,303 ballots are still to be counted.

Last election eve, Hoffman was too quick to concede on hearing that he trailed Owens by 5,335 votes in conservative Oswego County. As it turns out, this was untrue. He actually won by 1,748 votes. A recount will begin early next week.

Communications director for the New York State Board of Elections, John Conklin, says he sent a letter to the Washington, D.C. House Clerk informing him “all ballots will be counted, and if the result changes, Owens will have to be removed.”

Hoffman’s campaign spokesman Rob Ryan is expecting a miracle:

“Given the majority of these ballots are from a three-way race, we think the ballots are going to break Doug’s way.”

Let’s hope Ryan is right.

The problem with most conservatives is their natural tendency to conserve. Unfortunately, some of the institutions they wish to conserve are corrupted by Democratic political machines that work tirelessly to throw elections, undermining the political process, as was the case with Hoffman. In future, conservative candidates should look suspiciously on the verdicts of authorities and assume, like the left of old, that “the man is out to get you.”

–Mr. Curmudgeon