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Election Law @ Moritz

Election Law @ Moritz


Litigation

State ex rel. Mahal v. Brunner

Case Information

Date Filed / Ended: October 17, 2008 / October 21, 2008
State: Ohio
Issues: State Voter Registration Databases, Voter Registration
Courts that Heard this Case: Ohio Supreme Court (Case 2008-2027); U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (Case 2:08-cv-00983)

Issue:

The plaintiff, a registered Republican, is asking the Ohio Supreme Court in mandamus to order Jennifer Brunner to share HAVA mismatches with county BOE's in a user-friendly way that allows them to investigate mismatches.  Plaintiff is also  asking the court to require BOE's to look at this information and consider it in evaluating whether to count absentee ballots.

Status:

Complaint filed 10/17/08 in the Ohio Supreme Court.  Notice of Removal filed on 10/20/08 with federal district court.  The district court remanded the case back to the Ohio Supreme Court on 10/20/08.  Answer filed on 10/20 in Ohio SC.  Caused dismissed by the Ohio Supreme Court on 10/21/08.

SOURCES OF LAW CHART PDF

Ohio Supreme Court Documents

  • Expedited Petition for Writ of Mandamus PDF (filed 10/18/08)
  • Briefing Entry PDF (filed 10/18/08)
  • Notice of recusal of Justice O'Connor, received by Clerk's Office (filed 10/20/08)
  • Notice of recusal of Justice Stratton, received by Clerk's Office (filed 10/20/08)
  • Briefing Entry PDF (entered 10/20/08)
  • Respondent Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's notice of removal PDF (filed 10/20/08)
  • E-mail notification received by Clerk's Office regarding assignment of Judge Lynn Charles Slaby, Ninth District Court of Appeals, for Justice O'Connor
  • E-mail notification received by Clerk's Office regarding assignment of Judge William Herman Wolff, Jr., Second District Court of Appeals, for Justice Stratton
  • Answer of respondent PDF (filed 10/20/08)
  • Assignment of Judge Lynn Charles Slaby of the Ninth District Court of Appeals, effective October 20, 2008
  • Assignment of Judge William Herman Wolff, Jr. of the Second District Court of Appeals, effective October 20, 2008
  • Application for dismissal of case PDF (filed 10/21/08)
  • Cause dismissed PDF (filed 10/21/08)

U.S. District Court Documents

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Commentary

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Fifty years ago next month, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Baker v. Carr (1962), inaugurating the “reapportionment revolution” which led to the redrawing of legislative districts across the country. This milestone provides the opportunity to reflect not only on what has been accomplished, but also on what still needs to be done.

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In the News

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This week: Bama voting rights case in DC courtroom on Thursday

Professor Daniel Tokaji, a senior fellow at Election Law @ Moritz, was quoted by The Birmingham News in an article about a local county's crusade to end 47 years of federal government oversight of its election returns.

Shelby County is hoping a federal appeals court will agree that the county no longer needs the U.S. Justice Department to approve changes in the ways elections are conducted because the area has progressed from its discriminatory past. It is unclear whether the case would be the vehicle with which justices of the U.S. Supreme Court would review the constitutionality of Section 5.

"I am reasonably confident they're going to take up the question of Section 5 constitutionality within the next few years," Tokaji said. "It could be Shelby County, it could be South Carolina, or some other."

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Info & Analysis

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In the Hunter case, involving provisional ballots in a local Ohio election from 2010, the federal district court has ordered that ballots must be counted if they are otherwise eligible if they were miscast because of poll worker error. 

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