Did Bill Owens win NY-23?

The Syracuse Post-Standard is reporting today that the recount of the NY-23 election appears to be tightening substantially.

On election night, Conservative Doug Hoffman conceded, when it appeared that he was down by roughly 5,000 votes. Bill Owens, the Democrat, has since been sworn in and begun casting votes in Congress.

Now a recanvassing in the 11-county district shows that Owens’ lead has narrowed to 3,026 votes over Hoffman, 66,698 to 63,672, according to the latest unofficial results from the state Board of Elections.

With roughly 10,000 absentee ballots still to be tallied, it’s certainly statistically possible for the outcome to be reversed. What would that mean?

This from John Conklin, spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections:

“The key is that Hoffman conceded, which means the race is not contested. However, all ballots will be counted, and if the result changes, Owens will have to be removed.”