Public Opinion and Election law shocker, NY 26 absentee ballots, Acorn -Bill of Attainder

A national survey of the public's attitudes towards basic voting rights would shock the activist community - the poll shows majority support (55%) for literacy tests...
Was Acorn defunding and "bill of attainder...an example of class warfare?"...
The University of Connecticut's analysis of the state's 2008 post election audit is out...NY 23 can Doug Hoffman un-concede?...its a short news day but we will catch up tomorrow, if you think we missed something please email us as ncvoter(at)gmail.com...

All this and more in today's voting news below

AK: Court ruling reverses Haines election (decision on approved write-ins)
Nov 16, 2009 Five forlorn questioned ballots have been counted, and Haines has a new borough assemblyman.

Judge Patricia Collins' decision to accept the five ballots means write-in candidate Daymond Hoffman has bounced from losing the election to Gary Lidholm by two votes to winning by three. The ballots in question included two votes for "D. Hoffman," one for "Hoffman," and two absentee ballots that arrived without postmarks.
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/news/politics/2935-court-ruling-reverses-haines-election

CA: Lawyer Who Wrote Voting Law Sues & Collects, as Gov’t Officials Steam Over $4.3M Won
Nov 16, 2009. Only one legal group in California is suing to enforce the state's unique voting rights law. And a key attorney in that group helped draft it and get it enacted.
...
the California statute. It is intended to protect minority candidates from being shut out of the political process by at-large elections that dilute the power of minority voting districts.

But all of the litigation brought under the voting rights law was initiated by Rubin or Avila and pursued by attorneys working with them, the AP reports. While there is nothing illegal about that, it has been another aggravating factor in an already-annoying situation to those defending the litigation.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/lawyer_who_wrote_law_
sues_collects_as_govt_officials_steam_over_4.3m_won/
or use this http://twi.cc/wMSq

CO: IRV still fails after all of the
 provisional 
ballots counted
November 17, 2009
...
The advisory question, although split nearly down the middle, will likely compel City Council to place a binding charter amendment question on a future ballot.
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/137664

CT: Analysis of the Connecticut November 2008 post-election audit
The University of Connecticut’s Voting Technology Research Center has recently made available the results of their analysis of the State of Connecticut’s post-election audit of the November 2008 election
http://electionupdates.caltech.edu/?p=2997

FL: Anthony Westbury: Today is election day in Fort Pierce, again
November 17, 2009...Today’s election may not even be legal, and it’s conceivable Perona could be declared ineligible if he prevails.

His failure to step down from the Fort Pierce Utilities Board while running for the City Commission has prompted two formal complaints to the 19th Circuit Court.
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/nov/16/no-headline---sl_anthcol/

NY: NY-23: Absentees (Still) Point to a Democratic Win
11/16/09
http://washingtonindependent.com/68016/ny-23-absentees-still-point-to-a-democratic-win

NY: Hoffman wants a do-over
Doug Hoffman has fanned the flames surrounding the New York 23 special election, telling Glenn Beck yesterday that he would “un-concede” the election, “if that’s possible.”

Problem is, it’s not possible – or at least won’t affect the seating of Rep. Bill Owens (D-N.Y.) -- unless the New York Board of Elections certifies Hoffman as the winner of the race. Hoffman’s initial concession on Election Night set the stage for Owens to be sworn into Congress, and unless there’s incontrovertible evidence that Owens lost, he can’t call for a do-over.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/scorecard/1109/Hoffman_wants_a_doover.html

OH: Vote-fraud cases linger from 2008
November 16, 2009 Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien continues to pursue a handful of cases after prosecuting six people in voting-related cases last year, including five who cast ballots in the state even though they were not Ohio residents
...
O'Brien said he wanted to file charges against other voters but couldn't for lack of evidence and because Ohio's residency laws are hazy.
http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/
11/16/copy/voter_fraud.ART_ART_11-16-09_A1_O9FM66J.html?
adsec=politics&sid=101
or use this http://twi.cc/7CYZ

National

"Public Opinion and Election Law" (shocker)
The following is a guest post from Stephen Ansolabehere and Nathaniel Persily (cross posted):

As part of our national survey of attitudes toward courts and the Constitution performed by Knowledge Networks this past July, we included several items related to election law and voting rights. We wanted to assess public opinion on some contemporary controversies, such as photo ID laws and election-day registration, while also examining classic controversies, such as literacy tests, poll taxes and one person, one vote.
http://electionlawblog.org/archives/014778.html

ACORN Sues Congress Over Defunding Legislation
Unconstitutional 'Bill of Attainder' to be legally challenged, but was it also an example of class warfare?
...
The CCR suit "seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the government from reallocating funds designated for the organization and its affiliates and a preliminary injunction to stop Congress from singling out a single organization for punishment without proper investigation or due process."
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=7519

Voting News by Joyce McCloy.
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