Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Election Day: Let the Litigation Begin?

Yesterday, as outlined in this RTD article, Judge Williams (E.D. Va.) rejected the NAACP's request to extend the voting hours of Virginia precincts and to allow paper ballots. According to the article:

U.S. District Judge Richard L. Williams said the fact that the state allows people waiting in line when the polls close at 7 p.m. to vote and that it also allows curbside voting will insure that no blacks are denied the right to vote.
...
He allowed the NAACP to argue its case, but did not hear from the defendants, the State Board of Elections and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.
Williams also noted that he had cast an absentee ballot at Richmond's City Hall on Friday and had to wait 2½ hours. "It was quite a civics lesson," he said.
However, as the Washington Post points out, the NAACP has vowed to return to court today if needed. Further, the McCain campaign has filed a motion in federal court asking for ten extra days for the state to count military absentee ballots.

These suits are part of a larger trend: an electoral litigation extravaganza. Numerous voter groups, including both campaigns, have enlisted an "army of lawyers" in preparation for today's election (see here for a summary of some of the approximately 34 major lawsuits currently pending that involve the president race).

Even before the election, at least one suit was filed challenging Barack Obama's eligibility to run for President (see here for the court's opinion dismissing the case), along with the numerous suits challenging John McCain's eligibility (see here for one complaint and here for another court's opinion on the issue).

With these legal battles on the horizon, maybe this hypothetical McCain v. Obama Supreme Court case isn't so unrealistic after all...

No comments: