Suit Aims to Overturn San Diego Election
300305
Three voters asked a court Thursday to overturn the election of San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy and install a write-in candidate, contending that more than 5,000 ballots were unfairly thrown out.
489278
Opponents said Thursday they will sue to block a voter-approved measure that expands California's DNA database to all suspected felons regardless of whether they are convicted.
425003
New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is preparing to file his second civil suit against an insurance broker, San Diego, Calif.
270412
By Chuck Mueller, San Bernardino County Sun, Calif.  Feb.
366404
Overturn District Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals verdicts, please
450374
(InfoWorld) - A California judge is likely to order a Berkeley city initiative back on the ballot because of local officials' mishandling of electronic voting machine data, a public-interest lawyer arguing the case said Friday. In a preliminary ruling Thursday, Judge Winifred Smith of the Alameda County Superior Court indicated she would nullify the defeat of a medical marijuana proposal in Berkeley in 2004 and order the measure put back on the ballot in a later election. A hearing on Friday morning in advance of a final ruling brought out nothing that indicated Smith would deviate from her preliminary decision, said attorney Gregory Luke, who is representing Americans for Safe Access. The medical-marijuana advocacy group is suing the county, assisted by the technology rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation. The case points to the dangers of electronic voting systems, which make it harder to ensure fair elections, Luke said. Electronic voting machines have been widely adopted in the U.S. since the disputed presidential election of 2000. Laws in California and some other states now require paper records of all votes, but the California law wasn't in place for the Berkeley election. Both sides argued their cases before Smith on Friday in a last-ditch hearing on the proposed sanctions, according to Luke. The hearing brought out nothing new that suggested Smith would change direction, he said. Americans for Free Access sought a recount of the vote on Measure R, which would have established procedures for opening marijuana dispensaries in Berkeley. It lost by fewer than 200 votes. A recount wasn't possible because the city didn't share the necessary voting records, in violation of election laws, Judge Smith ruled in April. In May,Â the county agreed to share some data. The county reused voting machines from Diebold Election Systems without saving sufficient data to carry out a recount or review the election process, Luke said. Officials failed to save key evidence even after the suit was pending, he said. Data from the vote in question has only been found on 20 of the hundreds of machines used in the election, according to Luke. In addition to ordering another vote on Measure R, Judge Smith's preliminary ruling called for the county to pay the $22,604 cost of the recount as well as attorney's fees and the cost of a trip to Diebold offices in Texas. Ordering a new vote is a rare move for a court, Luke said. "This is a very severe sanction. ... and it's warranted," he said Friday. Luke expects a final ruling in the case within two weeks. The county could appeal to a higher court if the ruling goes against it, he said. Attorneys for the county were not immediately available for comment.
72736
The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego said Tuesday that it planned to file for bankruptcy protection to put off going to trial in more than 140 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by priests.
556737
Disputed ballots, if counted, would be enough to elect long-shot Donna Frye to be San Diego mayor.
119223
Florida's attempts to avoid a repeat of the 2000 election fiasco took another hit late Monday when federal judges ordered a lower court to hear a lawsuit demanding that electronic voting machines be equipped to print receipts for voters.
665310
Animal advocates who want to protect seals living at a beach sued the city of San Diego on Tuesday, the latest episode in a standoff that's included at least two suspicious seal deaths.
274945
A state appeals court on Tuesday lifted an order that had stopped San Diego Mayor Dick Murphy from being sworn in for a second term.
426695
Two third-party presidential candidates filed a federal lawsuit Monday to force a recount of Ohio ballots, and a spokesman for the state Democratic Party said it intends to join the suit.
62582
The Department of Justice has sued Pennsylvania elections officials in an attempt to give overseas voters two more weeks to cast ballots in the Nov. 2 election, according a published report.
65674
By Tiffany Erickson and Lisa Riley Roche Deseret Morning News  Voucher proponents filed suit Thursday to clarify what the public will be voting on regarding vouchers this fall and to correct an "inaccurate" ballot title.
81689
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Just five weeks before Election Day, a federal appeals court Monday revived a lawsuit demanding that all Florida voters who use touchscreen machines receive a paper receipt, in case a recount becomes necessary...
365661
A top Democratic fundraiser wanted as a fugitive in California turned himself in Friday to face a grand theft charge.
250545
A federal appeals court on Monday revived a lawsuit seeking a paper trail for Florida's new touchscreen voting machines with only five weeks left before the presidential election.