Pierce v. Allegheny County Board of Elections (Joy Flowers Conti, W.D. Pa. 2:03-cv-1677)
On the Friday before the November 2003 general election, two candidates filed a federal action to enjoin the counting of absentee ballots that were delivered to a board of elections by persons other than the voters. The district judge cleared her calendar and held a hearing that afternoon, after which she ordered the ballots in question segregated. She conducted a day-long hearing on Monday; on Tuesday, she ruled that the ballots should remain segregated and deemed challenged under state law. State officials and state courts eventually determined that some of the ballots in question were valid and some were not.
Subject: Absentee and early voting. Topics: Absentee ballots; ballot segregation; matters for state courts.

One of many Case Studies in Emergency Election Litigation.