Judge OKs Recount in U.S. Senate Race

A judge in Reno authorized a recount of as many as 15,000 absentee ballots in Sen. Harry Reid’s 459-vote victory over Republican Rep. John Ensign. Judge Janet Berry ruled on the recount at an emergency hearing after Washoe County officials said voting machines used to count the absentee ballots failed in post-election tests. Results are scheduled to be released at a court hearing Monday. The 13,000 to 15,000 absentee ballots represent 16% of the 95,000 ballots cast by county voters. The race between Reid, the incumbent Democrat, and his Republican challenger was the nation’s closest Senate contest. Reid had 208,579 votes to Ensign’s 208,120.