Posted: November 9, 2012
The plaintiffs in the Ohio provisional ballot case of NEOCH v. Husted filed their reply yesterday to the State's memorandum. The plaintiffs argued that an April 2010 consent decree protects voters from disenfranchisement if poll workers do not record voter information on provisional ballot forms. Attached to the reply is a copy of the transcript from Wednesday's hearing before Judge Marbley.
Professor Dan Tokaji was quoted in a Cincinnati Enquirer article about whether citizens who cast two ballots in elections have committed voter fraud. Some citizens under investigation say they were confused about the process or worried their original votes, often sent via absentee ballot, wouldn't count. Tokaji said there is often a valid reason someone would cast an absentee ballot and then a provisional one at a voting location.
“It’s certainly not a crime or intentional double voting,” he said. “Officials are not supposed to count provisional ballots if an absentee ballot has been cast.”
Submitting both “doesn’t come close to voting fraud,” he said. “The burden is on the board of elections to make sure two votes don’t count.”
Yesterday, an Ohio House of Representatives committee recommended 5-4 that the Ohio House uphold the election victory of Republican State Representative Al Landis over Democratic challenger Josh O'Farrell. In February, the Ohio Supreme Court sent the O'Farrell v. Landis record to the House for consideration. According to an article in the Canton Repository, committee chairman and State Representative Matt Huffman said he expects a vote by the full House later this month.
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Commentary
Silence of the Lambs
Dale A. Oesterle
With the election of 2012 now well over and past the second inauguration of the incumbent President, the historical analysis of the events has begun and will last as long as written human history lasts. An interesting tidbit may already be lost to the majesty of the moment.
The voters of three very different states, Alaska, New Hampshire, and Ohio, all had an opportunity to call state constitutional conventions. In each state the voters turned the opportunity down by very similar votes, 68%, 64% and 68% respectively against.
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