The Resolution of Election Disputes: Legal Principles that Control Election Challenges I have discussed the legal principles in this book extensively in the United States and internationally. It is remarkable that the quotations above from court decisions in cases in the United States easily could be read as excerpts from the decisions of courts resolving election disputes in many countries. Taken together, the court decisions in this book reflect the basic goals of election dispute resolution: • • • • to give effect to the will of the electorate, to give effect to the desire of the voter, to avoid upsetting the results of an election where possible, and to respect specific legislative commands. In many cases, a court’s decision depends upon the way the court balances respect for legislative commands, on the one hand, and effecting the voters’ will, on the other. The stories that make up the cases in this book involve a myriad of problems that arise in elections: • • • • • • • • • • • miscounted ballots, harassment and intimidation of voters, vote buying, missed filing deadlines, incorrect voter application forms, misspelled write-in ballots, ineligible candidates, lapsed ballot secrecy, ballot box stuffing, fraudulent petition signatures, jailed campaigners, • • • • • • • • • • • deficient absentee ballots, multiple voting, dead candidates, withheld ballots, political use of official supplies, nonresident voters, excess ballots, official misconduct in the polls, failure to pay qualifying fees, polling place changes, and mismarked ballots. The cases were selected because they illustrate the fundamental legal principles that apply to election disputes; because they illustrate different procedures that occur before, during and after elections; and because the stories they tell are entertaining. The chapters in this book show how a person must follow the rules to get a court to hear an election challenge, describe the standards that apply to lawsuits that challenge elections, and depict what happens when irregularities taint an election and what a person can expect if he or she proves that election irregularities occurred (not all legal victories translate into election wins). A list of the principles that are discussed in a chapter is set out in the summary at the end of the chapter, all of the principles discussed in the book are set out in the conclusion of the book for easy reference, and all of the cases discussed in the book are collected following the conclusion. xviii