Judge denies injunction in Alaska election lawsuit

[Tx4obama]

Source: AP (via HuffPo)

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal court judge has denied a request by Alaska GOP Senate candidate Joe Miller to immediately stop the state Division of Elections from counting write-in ballots.

U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline said Wednesday in his written decision that Miller has demonstrated no potential for irreparable harm.

Incumbent Lisa Murkowski ran as a write-in candidate in the Nov. 2 election. Miller is running second to write-in ballots. Miller wants to prevent the state from using discretion in determining voter intent and to throw out ballots that misspell Murkowski's name.

State attorneys said an 18-hour window to respond was unfair and there were no circumstances that required such a rapid response. Beistline gave the state until Monday afternoon to respond.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20101110/us-alaska-senate-voting-lawsuit/

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Also from: http://alaskadispatch.com/blogs/political-animal/7463-judge-denies-millers-request-to-stop-write-in-count
SNIP
In his decision, Beistline called Miller's request that the court deal immediately with Miller's 37-page motion "patently unfair," and he further ruled that there's no reason to stop the count since election staff is already in the process of separating perfect ballots from those with spelling errors. "Given that the questionable ballots will remain segregated and subject to subsequent review, with the results recorded separately, the Court finds no good reason to enjoin counting the ballots while the underlying Complaint is addressed in due course," Beistline wrote.

However, in the event determining a winner comes down to a need to tally ballots that are less than perfect, it appears the court battle will cause a delay in proceeding until late next week. Beistline has asked both sides to file briefs by Nov. 17 and 18, and he won't decide whether a hearing is even necessary until after the briefs come in.
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Edited to add:

The handling of write-in ballots over the next few days is being televised on public affairs channel 360 North, which is available on cable (Channel 15), satellite (Dish Network 9380, 7040 or 8299) and over-the-air (Channel 7.3 in Anchorage). It also is being streamed online at www.360north.org. The coverage is expected to start at 9 a.m. each day.

Live stream: http://www.360north.org/livefeed.php

Read more: http://www.adn.com/2010/11/10/1547036/write-in-count-can-be-seen-on.html#ixzz14vI8inEK

[Ian David]

1. Where have I seen this shit before...

[Raster]

7. Ah yes, the "Brooks Bros" rebellion. Every last one of them should have been

horsewhipped on The Great Mall on national television.

[greiner3]

2. "Murkowski's name;"

Gotta love those Republicans and their spelling, or should I say, lack of it.

[azurnoir]

3. What is the judge talking about of course the counting the write-ins

could do Miller irreparable harm, Miller could and most likely will lose the election and if that's not irreparable harm then by gosh what is?:evilgrin:

[starroute]

4. The court has already ruled to favor "voter intent"

http://newsminer.com/bookmark/10144171-%E2%80%98Voter-intent%E2%80%99-will-be-crucial-question-in-write-in-tally-that-awaits

The <Alaska> Supreme Court has made it clear in a series of decisions across the decades that its approach to ballot disputes is to try and determine voter intent in all instances.

The court decision last week on the abundance of phony write-in candidates who signed up just before the election, said, “The decision we reach today is informed by our previous cases regarding the importance of facilitating voter intent.” The court said it has been consistent in this approach because the right to cast a vote is fundamental.

The decision quoted a 1978 ruling in which the court found, “In the absence of fraud, election statutes will be liberally construed to guarantee to the elector an opportunity to freely cast his ballot, to prevent his disenfranchisement and to uphold the will of the electorate.”

It also cited a 1995 decision that “a true democracy must seek to make each citizen’s vote as meaningful as every other vote to ensure the equality of all people under the law.”

[Denninmi]

5. What, the court didn't view threatening to hold your breath ...

... until you turn blue and pass out as having the potential for irreparable harm?

Poor teabagger, wanna-be King-of-the-Frozen-North. I have a hard time having much sympathy for him.

[Confusious]

6. Would this be a "Sorry joe, your daddy ain't poppy bush" moment? nt