Posted on 02/14/2006 9:52:05 AM PST by SmithL
MEMPHIS, Tenn. Attorneys representing state senators plan to appeal a federal judge's ruling on Senator Ophelia Ford's disputed election victory. The senators want to void the special election amid allegations of vote fraud. State Attorney General Paul Summers' office is representing the Senate in the lawsuit filed by Ford. He filed a notice of appeal with Memphis federal District Court Judge Bernice Donald. Summers' spokeswoman Sharon Curtis-Flair told The Commercial Appeal (newspaper) the attorney general plans to file the full appeal within days.
The notice of appeal did not give specifics, but the state plans to claim that the Senate can't be sued as a whole.
Ford is a Memphis Democrat. She defeated Republican challenger Terry Roland by 13 votes to win the special election for the District 29 seat previously held by her brother John Ford, who stepped down last May under federal indictment for bribery charges.
Whoever wrote this story for AP should find a new line of work.
Suggest moving to a TV news department. AG files suit, film at 11:00 !
That's about how much sense this story makes.
Especially for the Fords in Memphis where the family business is a funeral home. Some of the family members use the funeral home as their address so as to be able to vote and/or run for office when they're not actually eligible. Of course, their critics are all "racists".
...as long as they vote for dems
They have already found more illegal and dead voters than the margin of "victory". Under Tennessee law, all you need to show is that the results are not reliable enough to determine the actual winner to overturn an election and order a new one.
"Ophelia Payne!"
I hear Bush is trying to win the coyote vote away from the Dems.
But all the dead voters were black!
Discrimination! RACISTS!
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Must be nice having a one line rebuttal for everything, no matter what.. but I think that card is just about played out.
MEMPHIS -- Attorneys representing state senators said they plan to appeal a federal judge's ruling on Sen. Ophelia Ford's disputed election victory, which they were seeking to throw out amid allegations of voter fraud. State Attorney General Paul Summers' office, which is representing the Senate in the lawsuit filed by Ford, filed a notice of appeal with U.S. District Court Judge Bernice Donald and plans to file the full appeal within days, spokeswoman Sharon Curtis-Flair told The Commercial Appeal.
The notice of appeal did not give specifics, but the state plans to claim that the Senate cannot be sued as a whole.
Ford, a Memphis Democrat, defeated Republican challenger Terry Roland by 13 votes to win the special election for the District 29 seat previously held by her brother John Ford, who stepped down last May under federal indictment for bribery charges.
But the results of the election have been disputed after newspaper reports uncovered votes cast in the names of dead people and several others who may not have lived in District 29.
The Senate voted 17-14 to void the election, but Ophelia Ford sued in federal court, claiming the action was racially motivated against the mostly black district's voters.
Donald granted an injunction against a final floor vote and later ruled that the Senate may proceed only if it develops consistent standards for dismissing election results.
Senate leaders are being advised not to run afoul of Donald's ruling, which also requires that voters whose ballots are discounted must be allowed to defend their eligibility.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Ron Ramsey has said a private investigator's report paid for by Roland's campaign has turned up 13 more improper votes and that he was planning hearings on the matter this week.
Ramsey, R-Blountville, said the new votes are not among several that have already been considered illegal by a five-member bipartisan committee of the Senate investigating the election.
If you're interested.
For all the good it will do, it is my opinion they will leave her in the seat..she is a FORD after all and they can do no wrong.
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