ACLU Sues Alabama Over Arbitrary Behavior on Ex-Felon Disenfranchisement

Posted on by July 22, 2008
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On July 22, the ACLU sued the Alabama Secretary of State, and county elections officials, over their arbitrary decisions over which crimes are serious enough to cause disenfranchisement of ex-felons. The Alabama Constitution says persons convicted of “moral turpitude” may not be registered, but no one knows which crimes that term includes. The lawsuit also attacks a state policy that awards a “voting pardon” on completion of a sentence, but only permits this pardon if that person paid all pending fines and restitution orders. The case is Baker v Chapman, state court, Montgomery.

California Secretary of State Says Alan Keyes is AIP Presidential Candidate

Posted on by July 21, 2008
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On July 21, the California Secretary of State recognized the American Independent Party state convention that was held in Sacramento, instead of the one that had been held a week earlier in Los Angeles. The Secretary of State’s Chief Counsel, Pam Giarrizzo, said that the Secretary of State made the decision based on the fact that Ed Noonan is listed in the records as the state chair. She said the office has no knowledge of who was at either convention, and of which convention had the larger attendance of state central committee members. She had no memory of how former Secretary of State March Fong Eu handled a somewhat similar situation differently, in 1988, for the Peace & Freedom Party. She said she might or might not look into the 1988 records, but said also that the decision is final.

Since the convention chaired by Ed Noonan chose presidential electors pledged to Alan Keyes, he will be the American Independent Party presidential nominee unless the other faction is able to sue successfully.

Socialist Party Seeks Court Order for Ohio Ballot Access

Posted on by July 21, 2008
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On July 21, the Socialist Party USA filed a complaint in U.S. District Court in Ohio, seeking to be recognized as a qualified party. The party’s presidential candidate already had a lawsuit pending against Ohio on the question of whether an independent petition may be circulated by out-of-state voters. That case is Moore v Brunner, 2:08-cv-224. The Socialist Party did not file a new case, but amended the original Moore complaint. It seems likely this latest aspect of the case will be before Judge Sargus, the same judge who ruled that Ohio must recognize the Libertarian Party of Ohio. Briefs are due August 1. There is no assurance that the judge will let the original Moore complaint be amended.

Brennan Center Publishes Study of Bad Ballot Design Problems

Posted on by July 21, 2008
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The Brennan Center has published a 77-page report “Better Ballots” that criticizes badly designed ballots. The Report got this publicity in USA Today. The study finds these problems: (1) splitting candidates for the same office onto different pages or columns; (2) placing different contests on the same touch screen; (3) placing response options on both sides of candidates names; (4) using “complete the arrow” instead of “fill the oval” response options; (5) leaving columns or rows for disqualified candidates; (6) inconsistency in format and style; (7) not using shading to help voters differentiate between voting tasks; (8) not using bold text to help voters differentiate between voting tasks; (9) not writing short, simple instructions; (10) placing instructions far from related actions; (11) not informing voters how to correct paper ballots; (12) failing to effectively warn voters of undervotes in touch screen systems; (13) publishing sample ballots different from actual ballots. To see a pdf of the report, see here.