| Subject: more news |
| From: Rick Hasen |
| Date: 11/2/2004, 2:03 PM |
| To: election-law |
The order is here. There is no opinion accompanying the order. The effect of this ruling: Ohio Republican challengers may now use the list of 35,000 potential invalid voter registrations in any challenges.
We will now see if the earlier Republican decision to serve as
witnesses rather than challengers changes as a result of this ruling.
Provisional ballots must be given to a voter in Ohio who requests one on grounds that he or she never received an absentee ballot. See this order. The order does not require that the state in fact count that ballot.
If in fact there is a four point lead for Kerry in Ohio (as
suggested by these
leaked exit poll numbers), we may be spared some nasty battles over
which provisional ballots should be counted.
A.P. and anecdotal reports say there are long lines at the polls in Ohio and elsewhere. Watch for what happens when polls close. Many states, including Ohio (as I discussed here) allow anyone in line at the time the polls close to vote, but no new people can join the line. How will that be policed?
Will there be such long lines at polls, particularly in urban, Democratic areas, that someone will run to court to seek an extension of poll hours?
If the race is very close, look for voting glitches and provisional
ballots to be in the spotlight for a potential recount.
See here.
So why the late-night mad push to get the district court orders
overturned by the Sixth Circuit?
-- Rick Hasen Professor of Law and William M. Rains Fellow Loyola Law School 919 South Albany Street Los Angeles, CA 90015-1211 (213)736-1466 (213)380-3769 - fax rick.hasen@lls.edu http://www.lls.edu/academics/faculty/hasen.html http://electionlawblog.org