CDR: Re: Courts interfering with election
George at orwellian.org
George at orwellian.org
Tue Nov 7 17:52:53 PST 2000
And here's the details...the move is allowed under
state law. Once example was someone who tried to
vote at starting at 10AM but couldn't.
http://www.foxnews.com/election_night/states/mo/hours.sml
#
# Judge Extends St. Louis Polling Hours Tuesday, November 7, 2000
#
# ST. LOUIS - A circuit court judge ordered Tuesday evening that
# polls in St. Louis be kept open until 10 p.m. Central time, three
# extra hours, due to long lines, a shortage of judges and a lack
# of booths, ballots and other equipment.
#
# The judge ruled on a petition filed by Democratic Congressional
# candidate William Lacy Clay, who cited that voters have not been
# able to get in to the polls, and have frequently been finding
# they are not on the voting lists.
#
# Joining in filing the petition were the Missouri Democratic
# Committee and the Gore-Lieberman campaign.
#
# Judge Evelyn M. Baker ruled in favor of the petitioners because
# of an especially heavy turnout. The Board of Election
# Commissioners "failed to live up to its duty to the voters of
# the city," Baker said.
#
# Under the emergency order issued less than an hour before the
# polls were to have closed, the election board was to be kept
# open until 11:59 p.m.
#
# Lawyers for Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush
# were unsuccessful in having the case heard in federal court.
# Moments after Baker's ruling, a U.S. District Judge declined
# to hear the case, saying it was a state issue.
#
# The Board of Election Commissioners planned to file an immediate
# appeal.
#
# Jim Grebing, a spokesman for Secretary of State Bekki Cook, said
# the office had learned of the judge's order through the news
# media.
#
# But Grebing said that the move is allowed under Missouri election
# law.
#
# "We were surprised, we didn't know anything about it," Grebing
# said. "But they didn't have to go through us, and we weren't
# consulted about it."
#
# The petition charged that numerous city voters were unable to
# vote. Lawyers for the plaintiffs said irregularities at the polls,
# including the inability of judges to verify voter registration,
# set numerous voters on a path taking several hours to confirm.
#
# Voters whose registration was not on record at their polling
# places had to travel to the board's downtown office where several
# hundred people waited up to three hours to confirm their
# registration.
#
# Mahina Nightsage, 41, said she attempted to vote at 10 a.m. but
# was told by an election judge that she was not registered for
# that polling place. Nightsage said she arrived at the board's
# downtown office by 12:30 and by 3:15 p.m. had not yet been able
# to vote.
#
# "That is too much of a burden for anyone to exercise their
# constitutional right to vote," Nightsage said.
#
# Nightsage said she spoke to many other frustrated voters at the
# board's office, some of whom left without voting.
#
# The petitioners presented several affidavits from voters with
# similar stories.
#
# An attorney for the Bush-Cheney campaign asked that the suit
# be removed to federal court because federal offices were at stake.
#
# Kevin Coan, the Republican director of elections for the board,
# said election procedures were no different from any other. Coan
# said he knew of no one whose right to vote had been denied.
#
# Coan said much of the confusion may have rested with people who
# did not register in time to vote, yet showed up expecting to
# be able to cast a ballot.
#
# "I doubt they have any idea what the election laws of this state
# are," Coan said.
TimMay was entirely silent on why he objects to this time extension.
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