[EL] Breaking: Indiana SOS Removed from Office; More News

[William Groth]

Under Indiana law, when the Recount Commission (or a court on review) determines that a candidate was not eligible to serve, "the candidate who received the second highest number of votes for the office is entitled to a...certificate of election". Ind. code 3-12 -11-25.

Bill Groth 


------- Original Message ------- On 12/23/2011  02:02 AM Even, Jeff (ATG) wrote:

I’m curious about the statement that if the decision stands, the second-place candidate would take office.  We addressed that question in a formal Opinion of the Attorney General several years ago, which is available online.  As we discussed there, the majority rule at common law is that the death or disqualification of a candidate does not render the votes cast for that candidate invalid, and does not make the losing candidate the winner of the election.  Rather, the result is a vacancy in office which is then filled by whatever procedures are set forth for filling vacancies.  So does Indiana perhaps have a contrary statute, or follow a minority common law rule?

 

 

From: law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu [mailto:law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu] On Behalf Of Rick Hasen
Sent: Thursday, December 22, 2011 5:48 PM
To: law-election at UCI.EDU
Subject: Re: [EL] Breaking: Indiana SOS Removed from Office; More News

 

Stay and appeal are coming:
Breaking (and Major) News: Indiana Secretary of State White Removed from Office by Trial Court 
Posted on December 22, 2011 1:17 pm by Rick Hasen 

The ruling is here.  If there is no (successful) appeal, the second place finisher, Democrat Vop Osili, becomes Indiana’s Secretary of State.

UPDATE:  Emergency relief sought:

The commission is seeking an emergency stay of the ruling, said A.J. Feeney-Ruiz, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office, of which the commission is a part.

The panel will seek to do so through Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller’s office, he said.

Zoeller’s office said it has not yet discussed the matter with the Indiana Recount Commission.

“We’ve not met with them yet. I’m sure we’ll be meeting with them soon to see how they want to proceed. We do not represent Charlie White the candidate,” said Bryan Corbin, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

If that request for a stay is granted, it would mean that White will remain in office as the legal case plays out.



Posted in SOS White | Comments Off

On 12/22/2011 1:18 PM, Rick Hasen wrote: 

 

 

-- 
Rick Hasen
Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
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http://electionlawblog.org