Justice Department to appeal Missouri elections decision

On the same day that Bradley Schlozman defended his decision to file an election criminal action just days before the 2006 general election, a federal court received official notice that the U. S. government is planning to appeal the ruling in the civil suit brought against Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

In a ruling, issued May 23, 2006, Judge Nanette Laughrey ruled that the state could not be held liable for violations of election laws that take place in its counties, but left the remainder of the case on the table.

In a ruling issued April 13, 2007, Judge Laughrey dismissed the remainder of the government's case, saying the weight of the evidence proved that this kind of case should be filed against the local election authority rather than the Secretary of State:

"To the extent the United States seeks a declaration that the State of Missouri has violated the NVRA (National Voter Registration Act) because the LEAs (local election authorties) have violated the NVRA, the United States has sued the wrong parties. While Missouri counties are created by state law and are political subdivisions of the state of Missouri, they are not the State of Missouri. When a prisoner seeks relief for some injustice done by a county sheriff, he or she must sue the county, not the State of Missouri.

The Justice Department filed the lawsuit after investigations indicated that some Missouri counties had more registered voters than residents in the county, indicating a sloppy job of taking care of the voter lists, a requirement under the National Voter Registration Act.