Michigan Supreme Court Rules January 15 Primary Back On. A 4-3 decision.

[flpoljunkie]

State primary back on, court rules

November 21, 2007

By DAWSON BELL

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Michigan’s Jan. 15 presidential primary is a go again.

Overturning a pair of lower court rulings, a majority of the state Supreme Court Wednesday morning found the law setting the primary date and granting exclusive access to voter lists from it to the Democratic and Republican parties was not unconstitutional.

The 4-3 decision, after a string of setbacks for the seemingly star-crossed election, means the vote can be held as planned. State elections officials had said they needed to know the primary’s fate by noon today to have time to prepare and deliver absentee ballots.

The court majority said reserving lists of voters (sorted by which primary ballot is chosen at the polls) to the two parties was within the authority of the Legislature and governor when they approved the primary bill last summer.

Dissenting justices agreed with an Ingham County judge and the state Court of Appeals that information generated by a government-run election was public property and could not be transferred to private interests without a two-thirds vote of the Legislature.

more...

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071121/NEWS06/71121024/1048/SPORTS

[cali]

1. well, we know what that means:

January 8th for NH. A mere 5 days out from Iowa.

[rocktivity]

2. Now I'm certain that the writers' strike won't be over until then

keeping Stewart, Colbert, and Maher off the table.

:(
rocknation

[lse7581011]

3. Didn't Think

NH would give up being first did you?