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| Court Orders D.C. Elections Board to Count D.C. Statehood Green Party Primary Write-In Votes. |
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THE D.C. STATEHOOD GREEN PARTY Statehood Green voter David Best wins his lawsuit against the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics. WASHINGTON, D.C. -- On June 4, the D.C. Court of Appeals decided in favor of D.C. Statehood Green voter David Best in his lawsuit against the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics, which had refused to tabulate write-in votes cast by some Statehood Green voters in the January 13 primary election. The Court, in its decision, ordered the Board to count the write-in votes. The Board claimed that it was unnecessary and contrary to its own rules to count the write-in votes, since the clear winner of the primary was David Cobb with a 37% plurality. David Best argued that the purpose of the primary election wasn't only to determine a winner, and that the write-ins needed to be counted in order for the party to apportion delegates in preparation for the Green Party's national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, June 23-28. The 123 write-in votes represented about 31% of the total, and may determine as many as three of the party's eleven delegates. David Best, who had cast a write-in vote and represented himself before the court, also serves on the Statehood Green Party's steering committee. "This is an important victory for Statehood Green voters and for all voters in the District of Columbia," said Adam Eidinger, also a steering committee member. "The decision upholds every D.C. citizen's right to have his or her vote counted, and not discarded according to arbitrary bureaucratic rules. We thank Dave for his hard work, perseverance, and powerful arguments on behalf of our democratic rights." The decision, written by Judge Glickman, orders the Board of Elections and Ethics to "to proceed forthwith to count the votes cast for each write-in nominee and, if it appears that any write-in nominee received enough votes to qualify for the award of a delegate to the Green Party national convention, to undertake the further steps required." The complete text of the decision is posted at <http://www.dcbar.org/dcca/pdf/04-AA-45.pdf> and at Westlaw: 2004 WL 1233968. EXCERPTS from Judge Glickman's decision, David Best v. DC Board of Elections & Ethics, Petition for Review of a Decision of the District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics (Argued May 25, 2004; Decided June 4, 2004): "In the present case, we think the Board has misapprehended the legislative purpose and consequently embraced an interpretation of its regulations that, in the context of the Statehood Green Party primary election, serves only to thwart the fundamental statutory goal...." "The problem with the Board's 'single-winner' conception, as petitioner Best contends, is that it is ill-adapted to the context of a primary election in which the candidates win delegates in proportion to their votes...." "The Board's refusal to tabulate the write-in ballots jeopardizes the Party's intentions and the goal of an accurate expression of the voters' will. Indeed, the Board's decision could affect the outcome of the primary election and, indirectly, the national convention...." "As we see it, therefore, the Board should have tabulated the write-in votes in the Statehood Green Party primary to ascertain if any write-in nominee was an 'apparent winner' of a delegate.... [W]e direct the Board to proceed forthwith to count the votes cast for each write-in nominee and, if it appears that any write-in nominee received enough votes to qualify for the award of a delegate to the Green Party national convention, to undertake the further steps required. So ordered." MORE INFORMATION |
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