Stockman strikes out in court again

A federal lawsuit by Steve Stockman to force his way onto the general election ballot for CD22 has been rejected.

U.S. District Court Judge Sam Sparks issued an order on Monday denying Stockman's motion to recall absentee ballots in the four counties the district represents. Those counties are Galveston, Fort Bend, Brazoria and Harris.

Election officials in all four counties testified in Sparks' Austin courtroom last week. All said that they would incur costs, confusion and delays by resending absentee ballots with Stockman's name on them.

In his ruling, Sparks noted that Stockman had only filed his federal suit on Sept. 19, even though the rejection by the secretary of state he was appealing had occurred three months earlier.

On June 22, Texas Secretary of State Roger Williams rejected Stockman's candidacy after finding his petition was 17 names shy of the 500 valid signatures required for an independent candidate.

Stockman challenged the constitutionality of Williams' requirements for valid signatures. However, Sparks ruled that the secretary of state's requirement of either a voter-registration number or a date of birth was not an unfair burden because "most people can readily give their birth date."

Although Stockman has produced 21 affidavits from disqualified voters asserting they were legitimate, Sparks ruled that he could only rule on constitutional law, not on facts that should be evaluated under the state's election law.

"A federal court simply cannot tell a state official, such as the Texas Secretary of State, how to conform his actions to state law when there is no constitutional violation at stake," Sparks wrote.

Judge Sparks sure is busy, isn't he? You may wonder why Stockman was suing in federal court, and why he took so long to file such a suit. Apparently, it's because he had previously sued in state courts, and was rejected by the State Supremes a month ago.

Former Congressman Steve Stockman sued to force the Texas Secretary of State to put his name on the ballot for the 22nd Congressional district general election. The Texas Supreme Court late Friday denied Stockman's request to be heard.

That was good news for Galveston County Clerk Mary Ann Daigle, who warned Stockman's lawsuit could have delayed mail-in ballots as well as ballots for military personnel.

Stockman's lawsuit alleged Secretary of State Roger Williams improperly denied a petition by Stockman to have his name added to the ballot as an independent for the congressional general election in November. Williams had ruled that Stockman's petition did not contain enough valid signatures to have his name added to the ballot.

"The state statute outlines certain requirements for valid signatures that were not met on the petition filed by Mr. Stockman," said Secretary of State spokesman Scott Haywood. "We appreciate the fast ruling by the Texas Supreme Court, which allows our counties to move forward with their preparation for November."

While early voting does not begin until late October, Daigle worried that the ballots would not be ready by Monday, which she said was the last date available to mail them to military servicemen and women, as well as other county residents overseas.

And to think that all this could have been avoided if Stockman had put as much effort into collecting signatures as he did into filing lawsuits. Better luck next time, Steve.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on October 08, 2006 to Election 2006 | TrackBack