McCain-Palin 2008, Inc. v. Cunningham et al

Filing 55

Letter. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit, # 3 Exhibit, # 4 Exhibit)(Perrin, Robin)

Exhibit B

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USDOJ/USAO!WD

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I N THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WES.TERN"DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
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STATE OF OKLAHOMA; ' .OKLAHOMA STATE ELECTION .
BOARD; and MICHAEL CLINGMAN, a s Secretary of the Oklahoma State Election Board;
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NO. 02-CIV-1273

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Defendants.

JOINT MOTION TO DISMISS THE ACTION AND SUPPORTING MEMORANDUM
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This is a civil action under the Uniform and Overseas,
Absentee Voting Act, 4 2 U.S.C. g 1973ff

et seq. ("UOCAVAU o r .

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" t h e Act").

The Complaint, filed by the United States on

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September 1 2 , 2 0 0 2 , alleged that' the compressed time period

between certification of Oklahoma's federal primary election and

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runoff election g+ve insufficient time for round-trip transmission of absentee ballots to and from Oklahoma's overseas Complaint,
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military and civilian voters.

Together
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:with the Complaint, the parties filed a proposed consent
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agreement designed to preserve Oklahoma military and overseas citizens' right to vote 'in the September 17, 2002, primary runoff

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eiection. The Court entered the consent order on September 12,

Also on September 12, 2002, the parties jointly moved for a stay of proceedings in this case until July
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2003, or until

their further joint notice to this Court, whichever occu'rred
first. for the purpose of permitting defendant ~klahomastate election officials t o communicate an6 consult with.the Oklahoma state legislature regarding the enactment of a permanent remedy for the violations of UOCAVA identified in the Complaint. The stay, and an administrative closure of the case for t h e duration of the stay, were ordered into effect on September 17, 2002. Sirice that time, the.United States Departments:of Justice and ~efenselhave conferred with Oklahoma election officials regarding proposed statelegislation to address the difficulties
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that prompted this suit and prior similar litigation.'
The ~klahomastate legislature has now passed, and Governor

Brad Henry has signed into law, a bill known during the

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The United States Department of Defense, ~ e d e r a l oting v Assistance Program ("FVAP"), is the federal government entity charged with facilitating absentee voting by military and overseas citizens worldwide.
This Court has entertained emergency UOCAVA litigation and ordered immediate relief by consent of the parties in connection with two previous Oklahoma primary runoff elections. United t e v. State of Oklahoma, NO. Civ-99-1.444-P(W.D. Okla.., complaint and proposed consent decree filed, and consent decree entered, Aug. 22, 1 9 8 8 ) ; United States v . State of Oklahoma, No. Civ-98-1271-W (W.D. Okla., complaint and proposed consent decree filed Sept. 15, 1998',consent decree entered Sept. 1 7 , 1998).

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legislative process as Senate Bill 358 (2003) that addresses the
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UOCAVA issues identified by the parties.
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S.6. 3 5 8 p a s s e d the

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Senate on May 27, 2003, end the House on May 2 9 , 2003, and was
signgd into lsw on May 30, 2003, as 20030kla. Session ~ a w k c h .

The following i k a synopsis of the relevant new provisions.
Section 9 of S.B. 358 creates a new statute, Okla. tit.
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that requires local electoral.boards to

accept and count for'.federal offices an absentee ballot from a UOCAVA-covered voter received by the 14th day after a federal

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election if the completed ballot was mailed nok later than. election d z y , provided that a winner may be declared before that 'time where the number of absentee ballots sent to UOCAVA-covered
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voters cannot mathematically affect the outcome. Section 14 of S.B. 358 amends ~ k l a . Stat. tit. 26,
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14-116,

to entitle all U