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Edward B. Foley
Free & Fair is a collection of writings by Edward B. Foley, one of the nation's preeminent experts on election law.

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Recent News & Analysis

Below are the most recent News & Analysis posts on OH-15 House race 2008. See All News & Analysis on OH-15 House race 2008

12/7/08
OH-15 race resolved, Kilroy wins and no recount triggered

Ohio's 15th district congressional race has finally been decided.  Mary Jo Kilroy defeated Steve Stivers by 2,311 votes.  An automatic recount would have been triggered had the margin been around 1,600 votes.  Resolution of this race was help up by a challenge by Stivers supporters to about 1,000 provisional ballots.  The Ohio Supreme Court decided Friday that these votes were invalid.  Ohio law requires that a determination be made as to the validity of all of the provisional ballots before any are counted.  That is why the 26,000 other provisional ballots could not be counted until the suit was resolved.  Kilroy faced an even longer delay two years ago in her race against incumbent Deborah Pryce who will retire at the end of her term.  See the Dispatch coverage here.

12/5/08
Summary of today's Ohio Supreme Court decision on provisional ballots

Provisional ballots are likely to be counted by tomorrow evening and the outcome of the 15th congressional district race between Steve Stivers and Mary Jo Kilroy may be known by then. Theirs is the last congressional race in the country to have no initial winner declared. An automatic recount is likely to be triggered. See the Dispatch coverage here.  See opinion, MPC case page.

Six of the seven justices participated in the decision and all agreed that the majority of the ballots should not be counted while Justice Lanzinger was joined by Justice Pfeifer in her opinion that the 30 provisional ballots with name but no signature could have been counted. The Court treated each of the three groups of ballots separately in its opinion. The three groups of ballots and the reasons they were deemed ineligible for counting are:

1) ballots with name but no signature; ineligible for counting because, despite consistent instructions, the secretary’s interpretation of the law was unreasonable;

2) ballots with signature but no printed name; ineligible for counting because the secretary’s instructions to only one county post-election failed to ensure uniformity in counting provisional ballots and;

3) ballots with name and/or signature in the wrong place on the ballot envelope; ineligible for counting because, despite consistent instructions, the secretary’s interpretation of the law was unreasonable.

Follow the link to continue reading the summary of the Court’s opinion… [Read More]

12/5/08
Ohio Supreme Court to Franklin County - do not count disputed provisional ballots

The Ohio Supreme Court decided that Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner acted unreasonably in instructing the counties to count provisional ballots without both name and signature and those with name and/or signature in the wrong place on the form.  See opinion, MPC case page.

12/1/08
OH-15: Parties file briefs in Skaggs

Both parties have filed briefs in Ohio's Supreme Court in State ex rel. Skaggs v. Brunner.  They can be accessed from our case page.  It is not yet clear when a decision can be expected.  No matter the outcome, the race is sure to be undecided for weeks as an automatci recount will likely be triggered once he initial vote count is certified.  

11/26/08
6th Circuit issues important decision in League of Women Voters v. Brunner

The 6th Circuit issued an opinion in League of Women Voters v. Brunner (formerly "v. Blackwell") favoring Plaintiffs on Defendant's interlocutory appeal of the district court's decision not to dismiss the case.  It has been remanded to the district court.  The case cites many examples of voter hardship from the 2004 election and alleges systemic failure in Ohio's voting systems and failure by the Secretary of State and Governor to remedy the problems.  EL@M Director, Edward B. Foley, analyzes the decision here, discussing its importance and, in particular, its citation of Bush v. Gore as support for the validity of Plaintiffs' claims.

Recent Commentary

There are no commentaries on OH-15 House race 2008 that Election Law @ Moritz has covered, or is covering at this time.

Recent News Stories

Below are the most recent News Stories on OH-15 House race 2008. See All News Stories on OH-15 House race 2008

11/11/08
CQ's Latest Summary of Undecided Races

Includes the Minnesota U.S. Senate and the OH-15 House elections.

Current Litigation

There are no active cases on OH-15 House race 2008 that Election Law @ Moritz is covering at this time. See All Archived Cases on OH-15 House race 2008