When they talk about paper-thin margins, this is what they mean: Only two votes separate the candidates for Ada County, Idaho, Highway District commissioner, triggering a free recount. The Idaho Statesman reports that challenger Alexis Pickering has the very slim lead over four-term incumbent Rebecca Arnold based on returns from Election Day. The tally is so close—15,735 to 15,733—that there will be an audit, a partial hand recount, and then a machine recount after Thanksgiving. As far as we know, no one has blamed dead Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez for anything so far.
