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Jan 12, 2009 2:00 pm US/Central
Court Won't Hear Texas Voting Machine Case
AUSTIN (AP) ―
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to revive the Texas Democratic Party's lawsuit complaining that eSlate voting machines widely used in the state don't properly record straight-party votes.
The court declined without comment to hear the case. Democrats had sued Texas and lost in lower-level federal courts.
"The trial judge and U.S. Court of Appeals reviewed the facts and determined the eSlate machines were certified properly," said Randall Dillard, spokesman for the Texas Secretary of State's Office. He said the Supreme Court's refusal to take the case supports those lower court conclusions.
"We will continue to protect the integrity of elections in Texas through a voting process that is fair and credible," Dillard said.
State Democratic Party chairman Boyd Richie said he was disappointed, but that the Supreme Court can only hear a few of the thousands of important cases.
"The eSlate voting system, and others that operate like it, fail to record votes in certain circumstances, and we are hopeful Texas' new secretary of state will exercise her authority to require manufacturers to repair these faulty systems," Richie said in a prepared statement. He said the party will keep working in the Legislature, Congress and the courts to make sure eligible Texans can register to vote and cast ballots that count.
Attorneys for the party argued that the voting machines, which are used in about 100 of the state's 254 counties, are prone to undercounting votes in general elections if someone casts a straight-ticket ballot but then marks an individual candidate's name, as if for emphasis. They said because the equipment doesn't record votes the same as other machines, use of them is a violation of the U.S. Constitution.
The Texas Secretary of State's Office has said that if a voter chooses a straight-ticket option first, but then goes through and pushes buttons for individual candidates on eSlate, those candidates are deselected and a vote for them won't be cast. If a voter chooses individual candidates first, then decides to pick the straight-ticket box, all of that party's candidates are selected.
The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against the Texas Democratic Party in July.
Questions about the eSlate system arose briefly before the November election when Democrats claimed someone was circulating an e-mail targeting supporters of presidential candidate Barack Obama and trying to cause confusion about straight-ticket balloting.
The eSlate equipment, made by Austin-based Hart InterCivic, has been used in some of the largest counties in Texas, including Harris, Travis, Tarrant, Nueces and El Paso counties. Hart InterCivic was not a defendant in the lawsuit.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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