Bulgaria: Protesters struggle to unite for election challenge | Yahoo! News

Leaders of protests that felled the Bulgarian government are struggling to unite to form a single political party that can challenge the old order at May’s election. Despite hundreds of thousands of people protesting in the past months over what they see as a corrupt political class that has failed to improve living standards, that impetus is now waning and their leaders are squabbling among themselves. “Suddenly, every Bulgarian is … the organizer of the protests,” Angel Slavchev, from the National Citizens Initiative, one of several groups competing to lead protesters, told Reuters. “I have had enough of fakes.”

Kenya: Chief justice pledges fair hearing for election challenge | The Star Online

Kenya’s Supreme Court will handle any challenge to the result of last week’s presidential election in a fair and speedy manner, the chief justice said on Monday, two days after defeated candidate Raila Odinga threatened legal action over the outcome. Uhuru Kenyatta, indicted for crimes against humanity, was declared the winner on Saturday. Odinga refused to concede, although he urged his supporters to avoid any repeat of the violence that erupted after the last election in 2007. Chief justice Willy Mutunga, appointed in 2011 to reform a legal system accused of serving the interests of the elite, said politicians and political parties had confidence in the judiciary to handle all electoral disputes. A swift and transparent resolution of the dispute is seen as critical to restoring Kenya’s reputation as a stable democracy, something that was helped by last week’s largely peaceful vote.

Ghana: Petitioners submit particulars as Electoral Commission provides number of voters abroad | Ghana Business News

The petitioners contesting the declaration of President Mahama as the winner of the December 2012 polls have submitted the names and codes of 4,709 polling stations where alleged irregularities took place. They have also filed the names and codes of the polling stations where voting took place without biometric verification. President John Dramani Mahama and the Electoral Commission (EC), who are the first and second respondents in the petition are expected to be served with the filed documents before the end of the week.

Voting Blogs: Unlikely Challenge: North Carolina Election Challenge Procedures and Write-In Candidates | State of Elections

“You can’t beat somebody with nobody”. On Election Day 2012, President Obama was re-elected, and North Carolina elected a Republican Governor for the first time in two decades. But there were thousands of other races further down the ballot, ones that are barely noticed by the public. In one of the most competitive counties in a swing state, on the last race on the ballot, a very odd thing happened. There was an election for an office that no one ran for. This election, for Watauga County Soil and Water Supervisor, had only write-in candidates since no one officially filed to run. Of the 27,764 ballots cast in Watauga County, only 1,839 votedin the race, all write in votes.  The election was won by Chris Stevens, a college student who registered to vote in September in Watauga County. The ineligible candidate discussed by this post, Alan Teitleman,finished fifth.

Ghana: Supreme Court Grants NPP Request – Orders EC to Provide Details…Directs Akufo-Addo to Furnish Respondents With ‘Better Particulars’ | allAfrica.com

The Supreme Court by a unanimous decision has granted the request of the petitioners; for the Electoral Commission (EC) to provide them with details of the names and addresses of persons who were registered overseas and the manner in which those persons were registered. The petitioners are also asking for the declaration forms of all polling stations in the 2012 presidential election, the minutes of all meetings held between the EC and political parties between 2010 and 2012, and the special voters list used in the 2012 presidential election. According to Peace FM’s Bernard Quanson, the Supreme Court by a ruling of 9-0, ordered the EC to provide the petitioners with those details within 7 days.

Ghana: Election challenge: Court orders petitioners to provide better particulars | Ghana Business News

The Supreme Court by unanimous decision on Tuesday ordered the petitioners in the December election petition to furnish the Electoral Commission (EC) and President Mahama with better particulars of claims with respect to the alleged electoral irregularities. Two of the three respondents, President Mahama and the EC had filed separate applications praying the Supreme Court to order the petitioners to supply them with further and better particulars of the petition. The respondents were seeking for “further and better particulars” with respect to the names and codes of the 4,709 polling stations, constituencies and regions where alleged electoral irregularities took place.

Ghana: Election challenge: Akufo-Addo opposes EC’s detailed request | Ghana Business News

The presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in the December 2012 general election, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has opposed the  request by the Electoral Commission (EC) for further documents in the petition contesting the results of the presidential poll. He said the EC “ought not be permitted to employ an application for further and better particulars to compel the petitioners to disclose the nature of evidence petitioners intend to lead during the trial”. The EC filed a motion on January 15, 2013 praying the Supreme Court to direct the petitioners to furnish it with “further and better” particulars of polling stations the alleged irregularities took place. But Nana Akufo-Addo, who is one of the petitioners challenging the declaration of President Mahama as the winner of the polls, in an affidavit in opposition dated January 21, 2013, prayed the court to dismiss the EC’s request. Hearing of the EC’s motion for further particulars has been set for January 29, 2013.

Ghana: Supreme Court to rule on NDC election challenge | Ghana Business News

The Supreme Court says it will rule on the National Democratic Congress (NDC)’s application seeking to join a petition contesting the declaration of President John Dramani Mahama as winner of the December 7, 2012 presidential poll. The petition was filed by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) after the Electoral Commission of Ghana (EC), Chairman Dr. Kwadwo Afari-Gyan announced the final results and declared John Mahama winner of the 2012 elections on December 9, 2012.

Ghana: President Sworn In Despite Election Challenge | VoA News

John Dramani Mahama was sworn in as Ghana’s president Monday, following last month’s disputed presidential and parliamentary polls.  However, members of the main opposition party boycotted the ceremony, saying the vote was stolen. Mahama took the oath of office before regional heads of state, dignitaries and tens of thousands of citizens Monday, promising he would not let his country down.

Voting Blogs: Who Decides a Post-Election Dispute? | ElectionLaw@Moritz

This post highlights a chart containing information about who would decide a post-election challenge in each of the fifty states, broken down by type of election. To access the chart, click here. For a summary and further analysis, read on. Doomsday scenarios abound regarding an election that might last into extra innings. What will happen if, on the morning of Wednesday, November 7, we do not know who won the presidential election, or other races? More menacingly, what happens if post-election challenges last several weeks, beyond the routine provisional ballot and recount procedures?

Florida: One man’s election challenge of Brevard County FL primary continues | floridatoday.com

An employee of the Brevard County Clerk of Courts office wants to examine ballots from the Aug. 14 Republican primary, as he continues to express concerns about the results of the election, in which his boss was defeated. Sean Campbell, the chief deputy to Clerk of Courts Mitch Needelman, has been trading emails with Brevard County Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott, seeking to examine ballots from three election precincts. Campbell has suspicions about the accuracy of the reported vote counts, and wants to compare the paper ballots with reported totals. In the Republican primary, former Clerk of Courts Scott Ellis received 61 percent of the vote, to defeat Needelman, who got 39 percent.

Canada: Election challenge clears another hurdle in Canadian Federal Court | CBC News

A group of Canadians challenging the election wins of seven Conservative MPs has scored a victory along the road to getting the main case heard in Federal Court. The court has ruled in favour of the challengers denying a motion by the Conservative Party to force them to put down hundreds of thousands of dollars as a security deposit. Nine people, backed by the Council of Canadians, are challenging the election wins of seven Conservative MPs. They argue fraudulent or abusive phone calls targeted those seven ridings in an attempt to discourage voters from casting ballots on May 2, 2011, and that the election results should be nullified.

Idaho: Idaho justices hear Coeur d’Alene election challenge | Spokesman.com

The Idaho Supreme Court heard arguments today in a challenge to the outcome of a Coeur d’Alene City Council election from November 2009. Jim Brannon, who narrowly lost a council seat to Mike Kennedy, pressed his lawsuit against the city to the state’s high court after losing in district court nearly two years ago. Coeur d’Alene lawyer Starr Kelso, arguing Brannon’s appeal, raised nearly two dozen issues in the case in filings with the Supreme Court.

Hawaii: State’s Chief of Elections Takes Hawaii County Clerk to Task | Big Island News

In an unprecedented move, the State’s Chief Election Officer has weighed in on controversy surrounding the Hawaii County Elections office. Scott Nago, Chief Elections Officer for the State, sent a letter to Hawaii County Clerk Jamae Kawauchi Wednesday afternoon.  He said his office has been fielding calls as to what is going on in Hawaii County.  He said Kawauchi’s decision to close the elections office on July 23 and her failure to thoroughly communicate to the other  election offices and the media  as to  the reasons for the closure has unnecessarily lead to significant speculation in the public about the integrity of the elections.  He went on to say, “This is simply unacceptable on the part of a fellow election administrator.  The public relies on us to be assured that their elections are safe and secure.” Nago’s letter goes on, “The lack of communication of your office in the last few days has seriously undermined the hard work that the election community does to build the trust of the public in the integrity of the electoral system.”  He says a written request sent by the State Elections Office to Kawauchi on July 23 asking for information has gone unanswered.

Canada: Tories ask court to toss election challenge | Ottawa Citizen

The Conservative party has asked a court to toss out a series of legal challenges that are attempting to overturn the results from seven ridings in the last federal election, saying the litigation offers no solid evidence that anyone was denied the right to vote. The Conservative candidates who won the seats also claim in motions that the legal action, brought by the citizen advocacy group Council of Canadians, was filed well beyond the 30-day time limit. Citing a pattern of misleading telephone calls made before the May 2 vote, the council in March asked the Federal Court of Canada to set aside the results in seven ridings across the country, a move that would trigger a series of by-elections. Under the Elections Act, any voter can challenge a result by bringing evidence to court showing that electoral fraud or other improprieties affected the result in a riding.

Indiana: State Supreme Court hears election challenge to Charlie White | The Indianapolis Star

The Indiana Supreme Court raised several questions about voter registration laws during a hearing Wednesday to determine if Charlie White was eligible to run for secretary of state in 2010. But those questions might not be enough for the state’s highest court to order White’s removal from the office. The Indiana Supreme Court has never ousted an elected official because of an election challenge. Supreme Court justices typically defer to voters, said Joel Schumm, a professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. It seems likely they will do so in this case, Schumm said, especially since White’s voting issues were well-publicized before the election, and he won by a large margin anyway. If the Supreme Court rules against White, the Democrat who lost to him by more than 300,000 votes in November 2010 could take office.

West Virginia: State Supreme Court rejects Charleston election challenge | West Virginia Record

The West Virginia Supreme Court has rejected a request by Janet “J.T.” Thompson, Charleston Mayor Danny Jones’ lone challenger in the May election, to block Charleston City Council from holding a hearing on her claims of voter fraud. According to the Court’s order list Friday, all five justices voted to turn down her request for a writ of prohibition.

Jennifer Bundy, a spokeswoman for the Court, said Monday the individual order was not yet ready. The Court’s ruling means that the results of the tribunal, which rejected all of Thompson’s claims, will remain.

Mississippi: Hinds County Election Results Could Be Headed To Court | WAPT Jackson

The contentious Hinds County election could be certified by the Democratic party as official this Tuesday. But, the fight will not end there. This appears to be headed to a courtroom. Campaign workers from several camps were keeping close watch over the ballot review process Saturday in the basement of the Hinds County Courthouse.

The most bitter debate is between Tyrone Lewis who currently leads incumbent Malcolm McMillin for county sheriff. McMillin’s camp said the election is wrought with too many questions at polling places throughout the city. The sheriff’s son isn’t the only one saying the election appears to be headed for a challenge.

Nevada: North Las Vegas mayor: Ward 4 election challenge has cost city $100,000-plus | Las Vegas Sun

North Las Vegas Major Shari Buck is not happy with the ongoing legal battle for the Ward 4 Council seat occupied by Wade Wagner. She expressed her disappointment in how the election was handled by former councilman Richard Cherchio in a statement Friday.

“It is unfortunate that Richard Cherchio and his team have chosen to pursue phantoms and unresolved emotions by searching for nonexistent ‘problematic’ votes as they prepare to mount a feckless legal challenge. These actions have cost the taxpayers of North Las Vegas over $100,000 so far, which could have been used to mitigate layoffs. That cost continues to rise.”

Financially, the city is in a bind. It still has a $6.1 million gap in its 2012 budget and may have to lay off 35 to 40 non-public safety employees to save about $4.1 million.

Nevada: Prosecution unlikely for voting error in North Las Vegas race | ReviewJournal.com

The man who voted in a disputed North Las Vegas election — though he is not a resident of the city — may have unwittingly committed a crime. But such cases are rarely prosecuted in Clark County, officials said. Such voting mistakes “probably happen a whole lot but don’t come out,” said Ron Bloxham, a chief deputy district attorney for the county. Prosecution “is rare in comparison to the number of times” such errors likely occur, he said.

Election officials often say no election is perfect, and the North Las Vegas election was no exception. But votes cast in the contest for the City Council’s Ward 4 seat drew unusual scrutiny after Wade Wagner, a 48-year-old dentist, beat incumbent Councilman Richard Cherchio, 64, by a single vote.

West Virginia: City Council dismisses election challenge  | The Charleston Gazette

Defeated mayoral candidate Janet “JT” Thompson’s quest to overturn the May 17 city election came to an abrupt end Thursday when Charleston City Council dismissed her challenge on multiple grounds.

Council members wasted little time considering Thompson’s June 3 Notice of Election Contest and later filings, especially since Thompson — as promised — skipped the court-like tribunal entirely.

West Virginia: Thompson refuses to participate in own election challenge  | The Charleston Gazette

Defeated mayoral candidate Janet “JT” Thompson told City Council Monday she won’t take part in the tribunal to hear the election challenge she filed. Even so, council members voted to give Thompson one more chance to appear at that court-like hearing on Thursday.

… Thompson, who has filed a number of legal challenges after losing to Jones in the May 17 election by more than a 2-1 margin, spoke briefly at the start of the council meeting Monday evening.

Alaska: Joe Miller told to reimburse Alaska for election challenge | Reuters

Failed Senate candidate Joe Miller must reimburse Alaska more than $17,000 in legal fees and costs incurred during his fight to overturn Lisa Murkowski’s write-in victory, a state judge ruled on Friday.

Miller, a Tea Party favorite, beat the more moderate Murkowski in the Republican primary. But she then mounted a write-in candidacy in the general election and beat him by about 4.5 percentage points.

Miller sued to overturn the results, arguing that elections officials improperly counted write-in ballots, but was rejected by a Superior Court judge, a ruling that was upheld at the state Supreme Court.

Australia: Taxpayers hit for Hanson’s failed election challenge | Sydney Morning Herald

Pauline Hanson’s political ambitions are undimmed, despite a failed NSW election challenge that has left state taxpayers with a hefty legal bill of more than $150,000. The One Nation founder was yesterday again widely criticised for launching the case, which was based on what turned out to be a bogus email sent to her by Sydney man Sean Castle who used a false name.

But Ms Hanson said she would think about running again for the NSW parliament after she narrowly missed out on winning an upper house spot at the March 26 poll. “I have received tremendous support from the public,” said the former Queenslander who now lives in NSW.

Australia: Taxpayers could wear Hanson court costs

Pauline Hanson is relieved that NSW taxpayers may be forced to pick up hefty legal costs stemming from her botched state election challenge. The former One Nation leader had faced the prospect of paying the likely hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees incurred by the parties called to answer her case. But the NSW…

West Virginia: Commission president demands proof of fraud in Kanawha County election challenge | Charleston Daily Mail

Kanawha County Commission President Kent Carper is asking that failed Democratic mayoral candidate Janet “J.T” Thompson bring evidence to the commission regarding her allegations of voter fraud by the county clerk.

Carper had a strongly worded letter hand-delivered to Thompson Wednesday. In the letter, Carper asks Thompson to publicly present evidence of her claims.

“If you do not have proof of these allegations through evidence, I would recommend you withdraw your contestation and apologize,” he wrote in the letter. “I’ll call a special meeting for her to come in if I have to,” he said when reached by phone Wednesday.

Australia: Hanson election challenge begins in court | ABC Newcastle NSW

The New South Wales Electoral Commission has been ordered by a Sydney court to hand over all the information it has about the alleged sabotage of votes for Pauline Hanson.

The One Nation founder has lodged a petition in the Court of Disputed Returns after her failed bid to win a seat in the state’s Legislative Council at the March election.