Miller Forced to File Suit to Get Records
| Anchorage, Alaska. November 12, 2010 — Today, Joe Miller filed suit in state court in Juneau (see complaint here) in order to compel the State to fulfill its legal obligations under the Public Records Act and allow him to inspect the election registers from certain precincts that voters signed before casting their ballots. Joe Miller said, “The election registers are public records, and there is no excuse for the State attempting to keep them confidential and shield them from public scrutiny until after the vote count is over.” He added, “The public must be permitted to inspect the election registers in a timely manner, before a winner is declared in the U.S. Senate race, in order for the electoral process to remain open, transparent, and fair.”
The Miller campaign consistently has maintained that every valid, lawful vote should be counted. Allowing public inspection of the election registers provides a vital check that helps ensure that legitimate votes are not improperly diluted by illegally or fraudulently cast votes, and that the results of the election are not tainted by mistake or irregularity. According to the campaign’s chief counsel, Thomas Van Flein, “The State has an absolute duty to disclose crucial public records such as these election registers in a ‘timely, reasonable, and responsive manner.’ During a contested election, timeliness becomes all the more crucial.” He noted that the lawsuit simply asks that attorneys and volunteers for the campaign be given access to inspect the election registers, rather than seeking to require the Division of Elections to make copies, so that Division personnel would not have to be diverted from counting the write-in vote ballots. Said Van Flein, “I understand that the state said it is busy, but the needs of the public, and the interests of election transparency, require more effort than might otherwise be acceptable. It makes no sense to wait until after November 29 to give us access to records that could impact the validity of the certification process. Now is the time to deal with any potential irregularities, if any.” Miller emphasized that the campaign was not seeking any private information about voters, or attempting to ascertain how anyone cast their ballot. “Inspecting the registers will allow us to simply count the number of signatures in each precinct, to ensure that no “extra” ballots materialized, and to compare the signatures from the polling places with those already on record, to ensure that the election was conducted in full compliance with state law. This is in essence a quality control check that should be routine for most elections.” Campaign advisor Floyd Brown added, “We have a team in Juneau standing by to review these records. The matter is urgent. Timing is everything. We cannot be slow-rolled by the state on this. We were left with no choice but to ask a judge to order the state to get these records to the public so they can be reviewed.” The campaign will likely be filing a motion for summary judgment early next week, along with a request for expedited consideration, asking the court to rule on its claim quickly. However, the campaign also hopes the State will simply allow the Miller team access and then this suit can be dismissed as moot. ### |
