Chase Oliver is expected to win the Libertarian Party of Connecticut’s presidential primary straw poll following a hand recount. The party initially announced Oliver’s victory on Tuesday; however, a recount was deemed necessary due to an incorrectly cast vote. The party does not anticipate the recount to impact Oliver’s total showing.
According to information shared on social media by the Libertarian Party of Connecticut, the straw poll, which was announced earlier in March, ran for eight rounds. A total of 106 voters participated in the poll, which was conducted using ranked-choice voting over OpaVote. Specific vote totals for each round were not provided.
Chase Oliver was initially declared the winner on Tuesday night, securing a plurality in each round leading up to the final round of voting. However, the party noted in a statement made over social media the following Wednesday that at least one individual overvoted, impacting the final results for other candidates and necessitating a recount.
“It has come to our attention that due to at least one voter listing a candidate AFTER voting NOTA, the results would have changed,” the party stated. “We will be doing a hand recount of all the votes and issuing a correction. This is unlikely to change the final outcome regarding the winner. But it may result in a change in margin and who finished second.”
The results below are those initially reported on Tuesday and will be updated with the corrected total when such information becomes available. Straw poll results do not bind delegates at the Libertarian National Convention in May.
| Candidate | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Rectenwald | 13.2% | 13.2% | 13.9% | 14% | 16.2% | 18.2% | 24% | Elim. |
| Jacob Hornberger | 11.3% | 11.3% | 12.9% | 14% | 16.2% | 20.2% | 25% | 34.4% |
| Joshua Smith | 9.4% | 10.4% | 10.9% | 11% | 13.1% | 17.2% | Elim. | Out |
| Lars Mapstead | 6.6% | 7.5% | 7.9% | 10% | Elim. | Out | Out | Out |
| Mike ter Maat | 8.5% | 8.5% | 8.9% | 10% | 12.1% | Elim. | Out | Out |
| Chase Oliver | 34.9% | 35.8% | 37.6% | 41% | 42.4% | 44.4% | 51% | 65.6% |
| Charles Ballay | 6.6% | 7.5% | 7.9% | Elim. | Out | Out | Out | Out |
| Joseph Collins Jr. | 3.8% | Elim. | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out |
| None of the Above | 5.7% | 5.7% | Elim. | Out | Out | Out | Out | Out |
| Exhausted | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Am I reading it wrong? The national party blylaws language on NOTA looks like it only applies to the national party convention, to me, and specifically only to President, Vice-President, and at-large members of the LNC.
Per the national Bylaws, NOTA is on all ballots, and it’s silent on whether it’s binding election ballots or straw polls. LPCT screwed this up.
Yes, people will criticize this argument. Tough.