It looks like the NY-23 race is over, again. With 3,072 absentee ballots left to be counted, conservative Doug Hoffman can't catch Democrat Bill Owens, who leads by 3,176 votes. State officials haven't called the race and won't until it's formally wrapped up, but the Watertown Daily Times says it's a mathematical certainty now. Owens already has been sworn into office, though Hoffman "unconceded" when the race tightened.
(More Bill Owens stories.)