The Mandate Shrinks

At least in the Garden State:

A record 3.6 million New Jersey residents cast ballots during last month's presidential election, giving Democratic Sen. John Kerry a margin of 243,427 votes over President George W. Bush, the official tally of votes released yesterday shows.

The final count included about 165,000 absentee and provisional ballots, boosting Kerry's margin of victory in the state by about 32,000 from the unofficial results reported Nov. 2.