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Election Law @ Moritz

Election Law @ Moritz


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June, 2009

Below are postings from June, 2009. (See Archives | Recent Headlines)

MN Supreme Court Rules in Coleman v. Franken

June 30 - The Minnesota Supreme Court has issued an opinion (6/30) affirming the decision of the trial court that Al Franken received the highest number of votes legally cast and is entitled to receive the certificate of election as U.S. Senator from the state of Minnesota [See EL@M case page for additional information].

Supreme Court Issues Opinion in Northwest Austin Case

June 23 - On Monday (6/22), the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District Number One v. Gonzales, reversing and remanding the case to the District Court [See EL@M case page for additional information].

DOJ Issues a Finding on Georgia Program

June 3 - On Monday (6/1), the Department of Justice rejected Georgia's voter verification program, which included the use of Social Security numbers and driver's license data to determine citizenship (See the AP story from the Atlanta Journal Constitution for more details).  The Georgia Secretary of State has also issued a press release commenting on the decision.

Commentary

Dale A. Oesterle

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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In the News

Daniel P. Tokaji

EXCLUSIVE: Voter fraud, or just errors?

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.”

more EL@M in the news...

Info & Analysis

Ohio House Committee Recommends Upholding Landis' Election Victory

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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