Alaska’s Lieutenant Governor Issues Statement About U.S. Senate GOP Candidate Joe Miller’s Write-In Vote Lawsuit
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| How do you spell “George Bush”? |
Lieutenant Governor Craig Campbell held a press conference regarding the lawsuit filed by GOP/Tea Party U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller challenging the process of counting write-in votes decided upon by Lt. Governor Campbell. In federal District Court on Wednesday, Mr. Miller maintained that the Lt. Governor has violated state law and federal Constitutional guarantees by allowing vote counters to make a determination of a voter’s intent when considering misspelled write-in candidate names. See Miller’s complaint here.
Here is Lt. Governor Craig Campbell’s statement:
“I have been consistent from the beginning in stating that minor misspellings of a write-in candidate’s name will be counted. That continues to be my position today [Nov. 10], and we are continuing under that direction. We have a number of instances where the Alaska courts have weighed in on this issue in favor of not disenfranchising voters. In consultation with the [Alaska] Attorney General’s Office we determined that the process being used today best serves the voters of Alaska in ensuring their votes count.
As we started the write-in count we reminded our ballot counters of their obligation to comply with the law. If a registered write-in candidate’s name is spelled correctly, and the oval is filled in, that vote is to be counted for that candidate. If it’s a minor misspelling, that vote will also be counted provided the oval is filled in. While I’m not going to get into a range of hypothetical misspellings out there I will tell you that if it’s so badly misspelled that it cannot be recognized it will not be counted.
Each ballot is going to have at least four sets of eyes on them. You’ve probably been down there and watched the process that’s been going on since this morning, so you’ve seen what I’m talking about. I trust the ballot counters to do their jobs correctly, but if either of the candidate’s observers disagrees that ballot will be looked at and added to the challenged pile.
Ultimately, the courts may be making the final decision, but the intent is to not disenfranchise voters. We have a process in place which is unbiased, fair, and respectful of the electorate and state law. It is our intention to ensure that all valid votes are counted and that voters are not disenfranchised.
I would like to give my unequivocal praise to the Division of Elections, it’s employees, and our ballot counters who are our friends, neighbors, family members, and fellow Alaskans. We need to remember these paid volunteer citizens who believe in the election process are doing this because they believe in Alaska. They are doing this because they believe in the democratic process and its historically demonstrated adherence to a strict non-partisan, objective, and fair process. The party affiliations of these ballot counters varies: we have six registered Democrats, six registered Republicans, seven undeclared, and seven non-partisan individuals. They’re going to be operating from 15 different tables mixed up in a totally bipartisan/non-partisan way. They believe in the integrity of the process, and I trust them and believe they will retain the integrity of this election as they have for the years before.
Alaska has a great process and great people, and today we are proving that. The bottom line is that while today’s counting of ballots is historically unique, we have a fair and objective election process in Alaska, and I’m looking forward to the results of the count process which should happen soon.”
Hear the audio of the press conference – and, especially, reporters’ excellent questions.
