Last Updated: February 21, 2011 at 1:44 PM
State of Ohio ex rel. John W. Painter and John Williams v. Jennifer L. Brunner, Secretary of the State of Ohio, and the Board of Elections of Hamilton County, Ohio
Case Information
Date Filed: December 20, 2010
State: Ohio
Issues: Election 2010, Provisional Ballots
Courts that Heard this Case: Supreme Court of Ohio (Case 2010-2205)
Issue:
How should an investigation of provisional ballots, as ordered by a federal district court, proceed under state election law.
Status:
Amicus Brief filed by Ohio Republican Party on 1/3/11. Intervenor-Respondent's Merit Brief filed 1/5/11. Intervenors' merit brief of Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and Ohio Democratic Party filed 1/5/11. Respondent's merit brief of Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner filed 1/5/11. Order Granting Writ of Mandamus entered 1/7/11. Amended Complaint for Writ of Mandamus filed 1/10/11. Motion for Temporary Injunctive Relief filed 1/10/11. Entry Dismissing Amended Complaint of Mandamus entered 1/10/11.
See also Hunter v. Hamilton County Board of Elections
Supreme Court Documents
- Complaint for a Writ of Mandamus and Prohibition - Expedited Election Case
(filed 12/20/10) - Affidavit of Alex Triantafilou (filed 12/20/10)
- Relators' Motion for Expedited Issueance of Alternative Writ (filed 12/20/10)
- Relators' Motion for an Order Pursuant to Civil Rule 65 and Supreme Court Rule X, Section 2, for Temporary Injunctive Relief Pending the Court's Consideration of Relators' Request for Mandamus Relief (filed 12/20/10)
- Certificate of Counsel in Support of Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (filed 12/20/10)
- Relators' Motion for Expedited Consideration (filed 12/20/10)
- Order - Case shall proceed as an original action that does not involve a pending election (entered 12/20/10)
- Intervenor-Respondent Tracie Hunter's Motion to Intervene (filed 12/23/10)
- Response of Respondent Board of Elections of Hamilton County, Ohio, Regarding Motion for Expedited Issuance of an Alternative Writ and Motion for Temporary Injunctive Relief (filed 12/27/10)
- Respondent Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner's Memorandum in Opposition to Relators' Motion for Expedited Issuance of Alternative Writ and Motion for Temporary Injunctive Relief (filed 12/27/10)
- Joint Motion of Proposed Intervenors Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and Ohio Democratic Party to Intervene as Party Respondents (filed 12/27/10)
- Memorandum of Proposed Intervenors Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and Ohio Democratic Party in Opposition to Relators' Motion for Temporary Injunctive Relief (filed 12/27/10)
- Memorandum of Proposed Intervenors Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and Ohio Democratic Party in Opposition to Relators' Motion for Expedited Issuance of Alternative Writ (filed 12/27/10)
- Intervenor-Respondent Tracie Hunter's Memorandum in Opposition to Relators' Motion for Temporary Injunctive Relief and Motion for Expedited Issuance of Alternative Writ, or in the alternative, Amicus Curiae Brief of Tracie Hunter in Support of Respondents' Opposition to Relators' Motion for Temporary Injunctive Relief and Motion for Expedited Issuance of Alternative Writ (filed 12/27/10)
- Order Granting Writ of Mandamus (filed 12/29/10)
- Notice of proceedings in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of Ohio (filed 12/30/10)
- Amicus Brief of Ohio Republican Party in Support of Relator (filed 1/3/11)
- Intervenor-Respondent's Merit Brief (filed 1/5/11)
- Intervenors' merit brief of Northeast Ohio
Coalition for the Homeless and Ohio Democratic Party (filed 1/5/11)
- Respondent's merit brief of Ohio Secretary of
State Jennifer Brunner (filed 1/5/11)
- Order Granting Writ of Mandamus (entered 1/7/11)
- Amended Complaint for Writ of Mandamus (filed 1/10/11)
- Motion to Expedite Issuance of Alternative Writ (filed 1/10/11)
- Motion for Temporary Injunctive Relief (filed 1/10/11)
- Entry Dismissing Amended Complaint of Mandamus (entered 1/10/11)
PDF files in this site require
Commentary
Provisional Ballots, Consent Decrees, and the Balance Between the Federal and State Governments
Owen Wolfe
A recent mandamus action filed by the Ohio Senate President and House Speaker Pro Tempore to require the Ohio Secretary of State to rescind directives issued in response to a consent decree issued in a federal case dealing with counting provisional ballots raises questions about the mechanics of state election law, the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, the relationship between federal and state courts, the law of consent decrees, and more. I have attempted in this article to grapple with these issues in a fair and unbiased manner. Given the complexity of this problem, however, these matters are open to a variety of interpretations and this is just one approach. I hope, however, that this article can provide a useful starting point for a discussion about the future of provisional voting in Ohio and in the nation at large.
This paper is a first look by a student member of the Election Law @ Moritz team and reflects one possible perspective on the issue. Stay tuned, as more analysis from the team will follow as the litigation develops. Owen Wolfe is affiliated with the Ohio Democratic Party and the Obama ’12 campaign, but is not in any way associated with any litigation team working on this case. EL@M has posted the document because we believe it has public value and adds to the discourse on this topic.
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