Interesting People mailing list archives
Legal challenges to legal challenges confuse Ohio voting.
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Tue, 02 Nov 2004 04:26:16 -0500
Begin forwarded message: From: "Peter D. Junger" <junger () samsara law cwru edu> Date: November 1, 2004 9:07:12 PM EST To: David Farber <dave () farber net> Cc: Junger () samsara law cwru edu, RCarla () aol com Subject: Legal challenges to legal challenges confuse Ohio voting. For IP if you wish. Two federal district courts have held that it would be unconstitutional to permit party representatives to enter the polling places during the election as ``challengers'' as permitted by state law. Earlier it had been decided administratively that only one party challenger would be permitted per polling place rather than permittiong one for each precinct as the Republicans wished. Now the Ohio Supreme Court has decided that one challenger should be permitted per precinct, but that, of course, has no effect as long as the federal district court orders are in effect. But the Republicans have appealed the federal district court orders forbidding party challengers to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and---apparently this evening, the evening before election day---the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has asked the State Attorney General to brief them on the issue of whether party challengers should be permitted in polling places under the Constitution. I have a friend who was dragooned into agreeing to serve as a Democratic Party Challenger---I guess her job would be to challenge the Republican challenges---when it was believed that challengers would be allowed for each precinct. When it was decided to allow only one per polling place she thought that she was off the hook. Tonight, however, at around 8:30 she got a phone call telling her that the Ohio Supreme Court had ruled that there could be one challenger per precinct and that she would have to at a polling place e on the other side of town at 6:00 in the morning. She is furious and is refusng to bring donuts to the polling place. Lord knows when or if the Sixth Circuit is going to rulte, but I fear that they will overrule the District Courts. But what happens if the polling places open at 6:30 AM and the 6th Circuit rules at noon that challengers are permitted? There is a better electoral system in Afghanastan than there is in the U.S. The only news story I have found on this so far is available at<URL: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/ election2004/10072743.htm>.
--Peter D. Junger--Case Western Reserve University Law School--Cleveland, OH
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- Legal challenges to legal challenges confuse Ohio voting. David Farber (Nov 02)