Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation Supreme Court throws out election for chief of Oklahoma’s largest Indian tribe | The Washington Post

The Cherokee Nation’s Supreme Court on Thursday threw out the results of a disputed election to determine the chief of Oklahoma’s largest Native American tribe following weeks of legal wrangling and multiple vote tallies that each came out with a different number.

The court’s ruling means a new election will be held in Tahlequah, although a date was not set by the five-justice court. At stake is the leadership of 300,000 Cherokees, one of the largest tribes in the U.S. Uncertainty about the accuracy of the results of the June 25 election and repeated flip-flopping in terms of the declared winner has eroded confidence among Cherokee voters.

Oklahoma: Cherokee challenger asks for ballots to be thrown out or new election | Tulsa World

Cherokee Nation Chief candidate Bill John Baker has asked the tribe’s Supreme Court to either set aside questionable ballots or order a new election, filings in the case show. The Supreme Court issued an order Monday afternoon requiring all motions, pleadings and briefs be turned in by noon Tuesday for the 6 p.m. hearing.

Baker’s camp has filed three motions with the court, two concerning the ballots and one requesting the justices call for a new election within 30 days.

In one of the filings, Baker and his attorneys ask that the court set aside all ballots that have been erased for one candidate and remarked for another candidate. These ballots were unable to be read by machines due to erasures, white-out markings, smudges or other alterations on the ballot and had to be hand-tallied.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation Chief Still Undecided After Weekend Recount | KOTV.com

After two days recounting the recount, there’s a new vote tally, but not a new Chief of the Cherokee Nation. In a hand recount of votes over the weekend, Chad Smith won by a narrow five votes but that may not mean he gets to keep his job.

A Cherokee Nation lawyer compares it to the Bush-Gore race in Florida. It was unchartered territory for America. Now, Smith-Baker is testing the laws of the Cherokee Nation. After a painstaking two days of counting more than 15,000 ballots, this announcement from Chief Chad Smith:

“I’ve come out ahead,” Chief Chad Smith said. But his challenger, Bill John Baker, says not so fast.

Oklahoma: Second recount goes to Smith – Final say still lies with Cherokee Supreme Court | MuskogeePhoenix.com

Which man will be the Cherokee Nation’s principal chief will not be officially determined until tribal court justices consider challenged votes. Unofficial results of the second recount in the race give incumbent Principal Chief Chad Smith the edge with five votes.

However, the numbers aren’t yet certified, and officials did not release the number of challenged votes. The court reconvenes at 6 p.m. Tuesday. Officials spent more than 20 hours counting ballots on Saturday and Sunday — the second recount since the June 25 election.

Smith made a brief announcement once the recount was complete, thanking his supporters first, then announcing his five-vote lead. “After a long effort and a long day, we are pleased with this result,” Smith said. “This shows that every Cherokee vote was counted.”

Oklahoma: Cherokee election recount progressing slowly | MiamiHerald.com

A second manual recount of votes in the hotly-contested Cherokee Nation principal chief’s election began on Saturday, but campaign officials said progress was slow and that it would likely stretch into a second day.

Three-term incumbent Chief Chad Smith; his challenger, longtime tribal councilman Bill John Baker; their attorneys and the tribal Supreme Court justices watched as the roughly 15,000 ballots cast for the June 25 election were counted at the American Indian tribe’s election commission headquarters in Tahlequah. Reporters were not allowed into the room, but both sides said it appeared the proceedings would continue into Sunday.

Oklahoma: Second recount in Cherokee elections starts Saturday | MiamiHerald.com

Cherokee Nation election commissioners will begin a second recount Saturday in the close and hotly contested election for the leader of Oklahoma’s largest American Indian tribe.

Results from the June 25 election have been in dispute since they were announced the morning after. Unofficial results showed longtime councilman Bill John Baker winning by 11 votes, but when the Cherokee Nation Election Commission announced its official results the next day it said Principal Chief Chad Smith had won a fourth term by seven votes.

A June 30 recount ended with Baker up by 266 votes, but the tribe’s highest court ordered another recount Tuesday.

Oklahoma: Chief candidates offer up ideas for recount | MuskogeePhoenix.com

Two candidates competing for the Cherokee Nation’s top post offered suggestions Friday about how to handle the second manual recount of the ballots cast for principal chief. Incumbent Chad Smith and challenger Bill John Baker have dueled over the outcome of the June 25 election since they were tabulated election night.

The tribe’s election officials declared both men official winners and losers during the first five days following the election. While both men cling to victory, neither knows for sure who will be inaugurated chief Aug. 14. While the candidates remained outside the spotlight Friday, lawyers for the campaigns outlined proposals for how to conduct a recount that might stand.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation Orders Second Recount In Chief Election | KOTV.com

The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court ordered another recount Tuesday in the election for Principal Chief. The second recount will be done by hand and will start at 8:30 a.m. this Saturday, July 16, 2011.

The race has been the center of controversy since the election on June 25, 2011. Chief Chad Smith was initially declared the winner by just seven votes over challenger Bill John Baker. Baker ordered a recount and was declared the winner by 266 votes last week.

But over the weekend, the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court counted absentee ballots. Their count showed more than 200 of those ballots were not included in the recount that reversed the election results.

Oklahoma: Chief: Cherokee election recount ‘fatally flawed’ | AP/RealClearPolitics

The leader of one of the nation’s largest American Indian tribes said Monday that the latest count of votes cast in its hotly contested election for chief shows that about 300 votes were left out during a recount.

The count ordered by the Cherokee Supreme Court and done Sunday night by the Cherokee Nation’s election commission “confirms the recount was fatally flawed,” Chief Chad Smith said at a news conference Monday.

Unofficial results from the June 25 election showed councilman Bill John Baker unseated Smith by 11 votes. But when the Cherokee Election Commission announced the official results on June 27, Smith was declared the winner of a fourth term by seven votes.

Oklahoma: Inventory of votes discovers ballots missing during recount | kjrh.com

After an inventory of absentee ballots from last month’s Cherokee Nation principal chief election, members of Chief Chad Smith’s camp say officials found some inconsistencies.

In last month’s election, longtime councilmember Bill John Baker was originally unofficially deemed the next principal chief, winning by 11 votes; however, the next day the election commission officially certified the results, which named Smith the election winner by seven votes. After a recount, the title was given back to Baker, naming him the winner by 266 votes.

Smith sought help from the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court to appeal the recount.  The court ordered an inventory of absentee ballots and envelopes over the weekend.

Oklahoma: Automated Election Services consultant denies changing chief race outcome | Cherokee Phoenix

The president of the election service hired by the tribe to help conduct the June 25 general election denied changing the outcome of the principal chief’s race by annotating a tally sheet.

Terry Rainey, president of Automated Election Services, testified he did not know who was winning the election in the early hours of June 26 despite being part of the counting process. During questioning by Tim Baker, Principal Chief-elect Bill John Baker’s brother and attorney, Rainey also stated no one from either Bill John Baker’s campaign or Principal Chief Chad Smith’s campaign contacted him about election results between Sunday and Monday mornings.

Rainey has taken the witness stand several times in Smith’s repeal of the principal chief’s race, which Bill John Baker was certified the winner of after a June 30 recount.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation Supreme Court stops to count envelopes | MuskogeePhoenix.com

The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court interrupted its third day of hearing Principal Chief Chad Smith’s challenge to the June 25 election results to do a little counting of its own.

Shortly after Chief-elect Bill John Baker’s team completed its direct examination of Terry Rainey, president of Automated Election Services, the court ordered an examination of the absentee ballots and the corresponding mailing envelopes.

Rainey told the court that comparison would be the best way to establish a base line to determine whether Smith’s allegations of “vanishing votes” are credible.

Oklahoma: Cherokee justices order voter comparison in recount appeal | Tulsa World

Cherokee Supreme Court justices Saturday ordered a comparison of the 15,000 voters who participated in the June 25 election for principal chief with the 300,000 registered Cherokee Nation members who are eligible to vote.

The action came during a hearing on Principal Chief Chad Smith’s appeal of the election. He had asked the court to order an electronic recount or to invalidate the election and call a new one. Bill John Baker is the chief-elect, having won by a 266-vote margin in a hand recount on June 30.

The comparison could match names of voters who should not have been able to vote, as first reported in a Tulsa World review of databases provided by the Cherokee Election Commission.

Oklahoma: Court hears testimony on absentee ballots | Muskogee Phoenix

Concerns that some 273 absentee ballots were not tallied in the recount to determine the next leader of the Cherokee Nation seemed to  evaporate Saturday. Two witnesses testified the absentee ballots counted by hand immediately after the election because they could not be tabulated automatically were counted and tallied during the recount.

The first witness observed the recount on behalf of Principal Chief Chad Smith. The second witness, called by Chief-elect Bill John Baker, counted and tallied the ballots at issue. Valerie Giebel, a University of Tulsa law student and Smith campaign volunteer, said during direct examination she saw things that caused concern. But she said she saw counters use a calculator to tally the hand-counted absentee ballots and the “total was moved over to the tally sheet.”

Oklahoma: Supreme Court allows release of Election Commission’s voters list | Cherokee Phoenix

After showing concern about its disclosure, Cherokee Nation Supreme Court justices on Saturday ordered the Election Commission to provide the court a list of names and tribal identification numbers of everyone who voted in the June 25 election.

The list was made available as part of Principal Chief Chad Smith’s appeal of the June 30 recount results that gave his opponent, Tribal Councilor Bill John Baker, a 266-vote victory. Baker is attempting to defend his victory in the appeal hearing that began Friday and lasted nearly 14 hours yesterday.

“It ended like the day began. The election commissioners acknowledged they made a mistake in issuing the certificate (certifying the recount), and through the course of the day that has not changed. It’s been a long day, but it still looks very good for us. We’re still very pleased,” Smith said. He added that he’s “pleased” the court allowed the release of the voters list.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Election Commission Will See If Former Citizens Voted | KOTV.com

The Cherokee Nation Election Commission was granted permission to see if any former Cherokee citizens voted in last month’s disputed Principal Chief election. The Cherokee Supreme Court gave the go ahead Saturday during a hearing to determine the winner in the close election.

The commission will check a list of voters against a list of relinquished Cherokee citizens who are not eligible to vote in Cherokee elections. To do so, they will release a list of “C.O. numbers,” a unique number given to every Cherokee citizen, to compare with the list of citizens who cast their votes.

Attorneys for Bill John Baker raised the concern that relinquished citizenship is an issue that should be dealt with on the district court level, according to Cherokee law, and should not be handled by the supreme court.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Supreme Court hears testimony on the handling of ballots | Poten & Partners

The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court begun hearing testimony Friday morning on irregularities in the principal chief’s election. Principal Chief Chad Smith on Tuesday asked the nation’s supreme court justices to order a machine-conducted recount of ballots cast in the June 25 election or to invalidate the election and call for a new election.

On Friday, the Supreme Court heard election commissioners and staff members before breaking for lunch, with questions coming from the justices and then from each of the campaigns. Other witnesses that were planned to be called for testimony were sequestered for questioning later in the day.

All of the election commissioners present and Terry Rainey, a contractor who had been hired to provide and oversee electronic voting machines, agreed that the tally of votes at the end of the recount was in error.

Oklahoma: Election Commissioners testify that recount is wrong | Cherokee Phoenix

Four Cherokee Nation Election Commissioners testified in front of the tribe’s Supreme Court today that they believe the recount numbers in the disputed principal chief’s race are wrong.

During a hearing regarding Principal Chief Chad Smith’s appeal of the election, EC Vice-Chairwoman Brenda J. Walker, Secretary Martha Callico and Commissioners Patsy Eads-Morton and Curtis L. Rohr told Supreme Court justices that they believe the recount numbers that they, along with former Chairman Roger L. Johnson, certified on June 30 are inaccurate.

Oklahoma: Baker files motion to intervene in appeal of recount | Cherokee Phoenix

The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court has a busy docket tomorrow, as it’s set to hear petitions, appeals and motions regarding the 2011 general election. One of those is a motion to intervene that was filed today by Principal Chief-elect Bill John Baker.

Baker filed the motion to intervene in Principal Chief Chad Smith’s July 5 appeal of the Election Commission’s June 30 recount that gave Baker a 266-vote win in the principal chief’s race.

Designating himself as the movant or petitioner, Baker states he was certified the winner by the EC and is an interested party because the election results, recount and appeal directly impact his interests as chief-elect.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Elections Continue in Tribal Court | Indian Country Today

The June 25 election for Cherokee Nation Chief between incumbent Chad “Corntassel” Smith and challenger Bill John Baker is now heading into its second week, with a storyline that has seen the numbers of unofficial, certified and recounted votes change at least three times. At press time, this election has also seen injunctions and appeals filed in the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court by both sides.

Smith was first elected to the office of Chief in 1999 and has served three previous terms. His opponent, Baker, is a three-term member of the Cherokee Nation tribal council. The Cherokee Nation has approximately 300,000 members, whose jurisdiction encompasses 14 counties in eastern Oklahoma.

Unofficial results for this election on June 26 showed Baker in the lead with 11 votes out of 14,000 cast. Upon certification of the votes by the Cherokee Nation Election Commission, Smith was officially the winner by 7 votes—7,609 for Smith and 7,602 for Baker.

Oklahoma: Smith campaign worker alleges disorganization in recount | Tulsa World

Eight exhibits attached to Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Chad Smith’s appeal of the tribe’s recent election became available to the public Wednesday morning.

Smith filed the appeal Tuesday afternoon, asking the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court to either order a machine-conducted recount of the ballots cast in the June 26 election or, failing that, invalidate the certified recount results and call for a new election. Currently, challenger Bill John Baker is the chief-elect, having won a hand recount conducted Thursday afternoon and evening by a 266-vote margin.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Nation election chairman turns in resignation letter | Tulsa World

Cherokee Nation Election Commission chairman Roger Johnson filed a resignation letter early Tuesday morning. No action has been taken yet on the filed letter.

“My honor, character and integrity have been unreasonably damaged,” he wrote, citing inaccurate media reports in the election’s aftermath.

The Cherokee Nation Supreme Court has set a hearing for 8:30 a.m. Friday on all pending applications and motions.

Oklahoma: Cherokee chief-elect: Incumbent should step aside | MiamiHerald.com

The chief-elect of one of the nation’s largest American Indian tribes called on the incumbent to give up the post Tuesday, as tribe officials confirmed a new election could be called if the bitter back-and-forth and legal wrangling don’t stop.

A recount determined longtime councilman Bill John Baker had defeated chief Chad Smith by 266 votes in the June 25 election, but Smith wants another recount. The election was very close, with Baker first declared the winner by 11 votes, and then Smith announced as the winner by seven before the recount threw the election back to Baker.

Smith has since appealed, and the Cherokee Nation’s Supreme Court set arguments for Friday. If things get any more contentious, the court could intervene and order a new election, officials said Tuesday.

Oklahoma: Cherokee election compared to Florida 2000 vote fracas | Native American Times

Cherokee Nation council members expressed hope last week that the controversy swirling around the disputed election for the principal chief’s office can be resolved amicably. The election and its aftermath are drawing comparisons to the famed recount in the 2000 presidential election in Florida involving Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore.

Longtime tribal councilman and challenger Bill John Baker, who trailed three-term incumbent Chad Smith by seven votes in the latest count from Saturday’s June 25 election, filed a formal recount request June 29.

Oklahoma: Cherokee chief looks to justices for recount | Tulsa World

After a quiet Independence Day weekend, the fireworks in the Cherokee Nation’s principal chief race could reignite as early as Tuesday morning. Tuesday is the soonest that the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court can rule on a request for an injunction filed by current principal chief Chadwick “Corntassel” Smith just before 5 p.m. Friday.

In his petition to the court, Smith demanded that the election commission finish Thursday night’s recount using a machine. The results of Thursday night’s hand recount were certified as official, but the Smith campaign maintains the recount is incomplete because there is a 251-vote discrepancy between the sum of the votes counted Thursday and those in the original certified results announced Monday.

Oklahoma: Cherokee Chief Asks For Machine Recount | KTUL.com

The war of words over the Cherokee Nation’s Election results continues this holiday weekend. Principal Chief Chad Smith wants a machine recount. Smith lost the election after the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court upheld the election and certified Bill John Baker as the new principal chief on Thursday.

Earlier, Baker was declared the winner in an unofficial vote, then Smith was certified the winner Monday, and now it’s Baker win, by a 271 vote difference.  Smith says he wants to get to the bottom of the different vote counts and there’s only one way to do it.

Oklahoma: New voting machines are coming, but Oklahoma voters may not notice a difference | Tulsa World

Oklahoma voters will have to learn how to fill in boxes instead of connect lines for the 2012 elections. Otherwise, said state Election Board Secretary Paul Ziriax, most won’t notice much difference from other elections over the past two decades.

There will be a difference, though, and a big one. The state will soon begin taking delivery on a new voting system to replace the OPTECH-III Eagle optical scanner machines in use since 1992. Ziriax expects the system to be fully tested and installed in time for the February 2012 school board elections.

“It’s my belief that most people won’t notice a difference,” said Ziriax. “Voters will still be marking their ballots by hand and they’ll still be putting them into a scanner. “The main difference will be that instead of connecting two ends of an arrow, there will be a box to fill in. And the ballots will be a little lighter weight stock.”

Oklahoma: Vaults breached twice, Cherokee chief recount still not under way | Tulsa World

Principal chief candidate Bill John Baker says testimony given during a Cherokee Supreme Court hearing today has proven that vaults holding the votes were breached between Sunday after the election and Monday morning.

“We just found that the vault has been breached twice since they said that they’ve locked it up and the envelopes have been taken out,” Baker said to reporters during a recess in the hearing today. “We’re going to go back in and see what the justices think about them saying they hadn’t breached the vault and the vault being breached twice.”

The Supreme Court hearing was to determine whether ballots were safely maintained and that the chain of custody wasn’t breached during the tabulation. In the hearing are four Supreme Court justices; both chief candidates; Attorney for the Election Commission Lloyd Cole of Stilwell, Election Commission chair Roger Johnson, Smith attorney Dean Luthey and Baker attorney Kalyn free; and seven members of the media.

Oklahoma: Cherokees protest election outcome | Cherokee Phoenix

About 60 people, ranging from children to elders, gathered June 30 at the Election Commission building to protest the certified results of the Cherokee Nation’s principal chief race and support challenger Bill John Baker.

“What we’re doing today is we’re asking and praying that the Election Commission do an honest count because we have had several different stories of how the count was arrived at after the election was to be certified Sunday morning (June 26) just after 7 a.m. by the Election Commission,” Linda O’Leary, a former Tribal Councilor and one of the protestors, said.

Certified election results show Principal Chief Chad Smith with 7,609 votes to Tribal Councilor Baker’s 7,602. Unofficial results released by the EC on June 26 showed Baker leading with 7,600 votes to Smith’s 7,589.

An Internet- and Facebook-based group called Cherokees ForTruth organized the peaceful protest. According to its webpage, the protests were slated for June 30-July 1 at the EC building.

Oklahoma: The Cherokee Nation Chief election will go to a recount | kjrh.com

The tight Cherokee Nation chief election will now be hand counted beginning at 9 a.m. Thursday. Initially, challenger Bill John Baker was named the un-official winner of the Cherokee Nation election on Sunday, by 11 votes

On Monday, the official results showed incumbent Chief Chad Smith the winner by seven votes. Both candidates hope Thursday’s recount will end the dispute.

“I think it’s black eye on the Cherokee Nation, I think it’s a travesty to the citizens that voted because they ought to know that their vote counted,” said candidate Bill John Baker.