Mah v. Board of County Commissioners (J. Thomas Marten, D. Kan. 5:12-cv-4148)
Three days after the November 2012 general election, an incumbent candidate for a state house of representatives filed a petition in state court seeking an order that a county provide the candidate with the names and addresses of all persons who cast provisional ballots in the county. The defendant board of commissioners removed the action to federal court after a state judge granted the candidate the order she requested. The state’s secretary of state sought a federal restraining order against the state-court order. The board, however, complied with the state-court order by its deadline. The federal judge ordered the candidate not to distribute the list or contact the voters pending further ruling. Subsequently, the judge ruled that the Help America Vote Act “protects ‘access to information about an individual provisional ballot.’ It does not protect information ‘about the individual casting the ballot.’”
Subject: Provisional ballots. Topics: Provisional ballots; Help America Vote Act (HAVA); removal.

One of many Case Studies in Emergency Election Litigation.