November, 2007
Below are postings from November, 2007. (See Archives | Recent Headlines)
Jennings Drops Florida Lawsuit
Nov. 30 - It has been reported that Florida Democratic congressional candidate Christine Jennings filed a notice of voluntary dismissal on Wednesday (11/28), asking the Leon County Circuit Court to dismiss her lawsuit contesting the disputed 2006 election. The lawsuit alleged that a glitch in electronic voting machines prevented about 18,000 voters from casting ballots in the U.S. House District 13 race. "We achieved the goal of having Sarasota County's voting machines independently tested," Jennings said in a statement Wednesday.
20% of VVPATs Unrecountable in Cuyahoga
Nov. 28 - The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports that a recount conducted yesterday for a local race showed that 20% of VVPATs produced by the county's DRE machines were damaged and unreadable.
Michigan Supreme Court Approves Primary
Nov. 26 - The Michigan Supreme Court on November 21 decided that the state's early primary may go forward (see here). The primary was disputed because opponents claimed it unconstitutionally prohibited ordinary citizens access to information regarding voters' choice of primary ballots, while permitting political parties access to this information.
Appellate Court Rejects Michigan Primary
Nov. 19 - The Washington Post reports that a state appellate court upheld a trial court's earlier conclusion that the law creating Michigan's early Presidential primary violates the state constitution (see here). Officials still have an opportunity to revise the law to allow the primary to go forward.
State Court Judge Blocks Michigan Primary
Nov. 7 - The Detroit News reports that a state court judge has blocked Michigan's January 15 primary because the law behind it unconstitutionally prohibits officials from sharing lists of primary voters with anyone except the Democratic and Republican parties. An appeal is being discussed, as is changing the law to remove the problematic language while preserving the early date.
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Commentary
Arizona: Voter Registration and the Road Ahead
Justin Levitt
June arrived with two election law cases at the Supreme Court. One is still pending: a highly anticipated decision on section 5 of the Voting Rights Act. The other, more frequently overlooked, was decided yesterday. And there are some quirks of the opinion that seem to depart from the swiftly congealing conventional wisdom that the states might actually have "won," and now need only run out the clock.
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