Ohio case may set U.S. voting precedent

[mod mom]

Hamilton County counted some bad provisional ballots

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 2011 02:51 AM
BY MARK NIQUETTE
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

There's a legal battle unfolding about whether to count certain ballots in Hamilton County that elections experts say could have ramifications for the entire state and even the nation.

The dispute already has produced conflicting rulings from the Ohio Supreme Court and a federal court, and it could require the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.

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The case involves whether to count certain provisional ballots cast in the Nov. 2 race for Hamilton County Juvenile Court judge, which Republican John Williams won by 23 votes over Democrat Tracie Hunter.

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State law says that for ballots to count, they must come from a voter's correct precinct. The Hamilton County Board of Elections decided to count 27 provisional ballots from the wrong precinct because they were cast at the county elections office and workers mistakenly gave voters the incorrect ballot for their precinct.

The board decided not to count about 150 other ballots cast by voters who went to the correct polling location but apparently were mistakenly directed by poll workers to the wrong table for their precinct and also cast the wrong ballot.

-snip

http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2011/01/19/copy/local-case-may-set-u-s-voting-precedent.html?adsec=politics&sid=101

[LiberalFighter]

1. I think the key question is whether there were any political offices

that they should not had voted. If there were, can they pull those votes out so they don't count and just count the ones that they had a right to vote?

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[DCKit]

3. Sounds like another in a long list of ways to disenfranchise voters:

Don't train the polling staff properly, and any election can be disputed.

Before you criticize, remember this is OHIO.

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

4. this happened in North Carolina in 2004 and we took care of it

The legislature clarified the law on provisional ballots.

If cast out of precinct, then the conntests the voter was eligible to vote for
i.e their correct district or statewide contests, would be counted.

If there were contests not of the voters district, those contests would not be counted.

[gristy]

5. That sounds perfectly reasonable.

So we can certainly expect that Ohio will adopt nothing of the sort.

[demodonkey]

6. PA: If ballot is cast in correct county but wrong precinct, it is counted for the portion...

...of the ballot the voter would have been eligible for in his/her home precinct.

For example, if you vote in your county in the wrong precinct, but it is in the same Congressional District as yours, your vote for Congress Rep counts.


If it is determined that the individual voting the provisional ballot was eligible to vote in the county in which the ballot was cast but not at the election district where the ballot was cast, the county board of elections shall open the envelope and only count that portion of the ballot that the individual would have been eligible to vote in his proper election district and at the election district where the vote was cast if: (A) the county board of elections confirms that the individual did not cast any other ballot, including an absentee ballot, in the election; and (B) the individual casting the provisional ballot is a resident of the county in which the provisional ballot was cast. (ii) In the event that the individual casting the provisional ballot is not found to be a resident of the county in which the provisional ballot was cast, the ballot shall not be counted.

Source: Pennsylvania Statutes Title 25 § 3050