Miller's Lawsuit Moved to Juneau, No Ruling on Murkowski Intervention

The Anchorage Daily News (ADN) tonight reported that Alaska judge Douglas Blankenship moved Joe Miller's vote count lawsuit to Juneau on the grounds that it is "inconvenient" to the state to be held in Fairbanks. Judge Blankenship did not rule on Sen. Murkowski's attempt to intervene in the case. Another judge will rule on the intervention attempt.

Joe Miller is seeking to have Alaska's Division of Elections (DOE) follow state law which requires that the oval next to a write-in candidate's name be filled in and the candidate's name spelled correctly and legibly on the ballot. Lt. Gov. Campbell and the DOE chose to interpret "voter intent" in counting the write-in votes. An injunction halting the certification of the Alaska Senate election is part of the lawsuit and is in effect. The certification was to have been done today.

Sen. Murkowski led Miller by over 10,000 write-in votes; Miller contested over 8,100 of these. The incumbent senator declared victory with the backing of the state's Republican Party, chaired by Randy Reudrich of Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) infamy. The AOGCC chairman from 2003 to 2004 - Sarah Palin - uncovered numerous ethics issues leading to Reudrich's payment of the highest civil fine in Alaska's history.

Gov. Palin's endorsement of Joe Miller propelled him to victory over Sen. Murkowski in the primary election.

State Raises Concerns About Ballot Security; Court Transfers Case to Juneau Anchorage, Alaska. November 29, 2010 -- Today, Superior Court Judge Doug Blankenship issued a ruling transferring the election standards case to Juneau. The judge ruled that venue was proper in Fairbanks, Alaska, but he raised concerns about the many possible questions of fact that could be raised that would require a judge to personally review hundreds of ballots. In a somewhat troubling argument, the State of Alaska argued that it could not guarantee the chain of custody and security of the ballots if they were shipped from Juneau to Fairbanks. “We all paused when the state Attorney General admitted to having security concerns about the ballots. We simply assumed the same security measures used to transport the ballots from Fairbanks (and from throughout the state of Alaska) to Juneau after they were cast would be used to transfer ballots from Juneau to Fairbanks, if that were necessary,” said Joe Miller. “But there was a noticeable quiet in the courtroom when the state’s attorney questioned their own ability to secure these ballots. We don’t know what to make of this at the moment,” Miller concluded. In light of the State’s admitted security concerns, and its concerns about leaving the ballots in Juneau, the Miller campaign will not seek any review of the court’s decision today. “I think the important issue here is a question of law. Our main concern is a fair and accurate vote count, consistent with state law, is the outcome of these legal proceedings, whether in Fairbanks or Juneau,” said Miller campaign counsel Thomas Van Flein. A status conference has been set for Wednesday afternoon in Juneau. ### P.S. Help us ensure a fair vote count in Alaska. Please click here to donate a gift of $100, $75, $50, or $25. Paid for by Joe Miller for US Senate Recount