Provisional ballot limits upheld by judge

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missourians who vote from the wrong polling places, despite directions to go elsewhere, cannot have their votes counted, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.

The ruling essentially upholds the interpretation of Missouri's provisional voting law taken by Secretary of State Matt Blunt, the Republican candidate for governor.

The Missouri Democratic Party and three Kansas City residents had sued Blunt and the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners on claims that the state law regarding provisional ballots conflicted with the federal law.

Provisional ballots are used when someone's eligibility to vote cannot be immediately determined; they can only be cast for federal and statewide candidates and issues.

The residents who sued cast provisional ballots at the wrong polling places in the Aug. 3 primary but said their votes should count anyway under terms of the federal law. Missouri law, however, says votes cast in the wrong place do not count.

The Kansas City board was previously dismissed from the case after saying it would count the three residents' votes.

The board and secretary of state said in court filings that they interpret state law to mean that provisional ballots cast in the wrong place can be counted only if the voter was not directed to the correct place.

U.S. District Judge Richard Dorr adopted that argument while ruling that state law complies with federal law.

"The Missouri state statute ... is a reasonable application of (the federal voting law's) requirements in this state," Dorr wrote, adding: "It cannot be unreasonable to direct a voter to his correct polling place where a full ballot is likely to be cast."

Blunt said he was pleased.

"Provisional balloting is an important safeguard, but as the court affirmed today, it was never meant to replace voting at assigned polling places," Blunt said in a statement.

Monica Allen, an attorney with firm representing the Democrats and the three Kansas City voters, said the plaintiffs had not yet decided whether to appeal.

"While the decision did not go as far as we had hoped, it does ensure that a person who shows up at a polling place, finds that they're not at the correct poll and no one's able to provide them information about the correct place to go, will be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted," Allen said.

The Missouri Democratic Party had no comment.

Provisional balloting has surfaced as a pre-election issue in several states.

Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia have adopted the view that a provisional ballot must be cast in the correct precinct, or it will not count. There are lawsuits in four other states claiming election officials are adopting too strict a standard for which votes will count and that eligible voters will be denied the right to vote as a result.

Democrats and Republicans around the country are training lawyers and election monitors to look for problems with provisional voting in the Nov. 2 election.

Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon, who defended the state's interpretation of the law, said Tuesday evening he was still reviewing the decision.