Philip W. Johnston - 1996 Congressional Election

1996 Congressional Election

In 1996, Johnston was a Democratic candidate for Congress in the 10th District of Massachusetts. Johnston was initially declared the winner, and an official recount in a several contested towns preserved Johnston's victory, though by a narrower margin. Following the recount, Delahunt sought judicial review in the Massachusetts Superior Court and Judge Elizabeth Donvan conducted a de novo review of the contested ballots and declared Delahunt the victor by a 108-vote margin. The case was appealed to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, which upheld the lower court ruling. The case is also noteworthy for the issue of "hanging chads" in punch-card voting machines. Their court case was later referenced as a precedent in the Bush-Gore Florida Supreme Court case.