(St. Louis Public Radio) – A Missouri appeals court panel has ruled that technical violations of the absentee ballot laws are enough to order a new election in the 78th House District.
Original story
The never-ending Democratic primary in a state House district that runs along the eastern part of St. Louis has taken another small step toward a final resolution.
Judges Colleen Dolan, Phillip Hess and Roy Richter of the Missouri Court of Appeals heard oral arguments Monday afternoon on whether the fact that the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners improperly counted as many as 238 absentee ballots means the result of the race must be thrown out. Incumbent Penny Hubbard defeated challenger Bruce Franks by 90 votes, a margin of victory that came entirely from absentee ballots.
Just before Labor Day, a lower court ruled that technical problems with absentee ballots could be considered an irregularity that put the result of the election in doubt. David Roland, the attorney for Franks, urged the appeals panel to uphold that ruling and a century of court precedent.
“In several of these cases, the court specifically addressed the question of, ‘What if it wasn’t the voter who made the mistake? What if the mistake was made by the election authority?'” Roland said. “And in each of those instances, the court has said it does not matter. If the election authority makes the mistake, the law has still been violated. And each of these cases, it says compliance with the absentee voting statutes is mandatory.”
Jane Dueker, an attorney for Hubbard, said, “The remedy is far worse than anything that happened here. We don’t throw out 4,316 votes (the number cast in the disputed election) on a technicality. We don’t play gotcha voting in Missouri, and to actually accept their argument would be to overturn the will of these people.”
Dueker said the compressed time frame of the new election — it’s currently scheduled for Friday — means elderly voters have been effectively disenfranchised.
The district extends as far north as Natural Bridge and as far south as Meramec Street.
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/appeals-court-weighs-re-do-primary-78th-house-district
