Joel Hansen, a long-time activist in the Constitution Party in Nevada (the Nevada affiliate of the Constitution Party is called the Independent American Party), may be elected to the Nevada Supreme Court next month. Polls show him virtually tied with the incumbent justice; there are only two candidates in the race. The election is technically non-partisan.
On Saturday the 6th circuit (which contains Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee) ruled that the new federal law requiring provisional voting can be privately enforced. However, the panel also ruled that the federal law does not require provisional voting outside of the voter’s home precinct.
Provisional voting is required in federal elections throughout the U.S., because Congress included the idea in the “Help America Vote Act” of 2002. “Provisional voting” means a voter must be issued a ballot, even if he or she is not listed on the rolls. Provisional ballots are set aside and not counted on election night. They are counted days or weeks later, if elections officials determine the voter really was registered to vote. Sometimes clerical errors result in a voter not being listed in the precinct roster; provisional voting is a safeguard against a voter being disenfranchised due to such a clerical error.
The 6th circuit panel vote was 3-0. It consisted of two Republican appointees (Danny Boggs and Herman Weber) and one Clinton appointee (Ronald Gilman).
John Ashcroft’s Justice Department had intervened in the case, claiming that private individuals are not permitted to sue to enforce the Act. The Justice Department said only federal and state officials can enforce the act. The 6th circuit disagreed, and that may be the most significant result of Saturday’s ruling. Neither side plans a quick appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, although this case, or one of the parallel cases now pending in other states might eventually be heard in that Court.
This morning, the US Supreme Court ruled against putting Ralph Nader on the Pennsylvania ballot.
The Supreme Court has not yet acted on a similar appeal from Nader involving Ohio.
Ballot Access News editor Richard Winger will appear on CNN this Sunday at 3:00 pm Eastern Time (12 noon Pacific) on the show “In the Money.”
We don’t know when in the show he will be on, but take the time to watch the show!
Today the Ohio Supreme Court rejected a request by Ralph Nader to place his name on the ballot.
Nader wanted the court to force election boards to review their voter registration lists, a process Nader said could have led to the validation of petitions to place him on the ballot.
The court ruled six-to-one against Nader, saying his campaign waited too long to raise its concerns.
Nader had argued that a backlog of applications prevented boards from confirming valid signatures on his petitions.
The court’s decision is available to read here. You can also read all the relevant briefs on the Nader Ohio issue at Andrew Hyman’s website.
The campaign is appealing this decision to the US Supreme Court, which is already meeting today to consider Nader’s Pennsylvania appeal.
