As allegations of election misconduct are made, a judge will determine if Alachua needs new elections
By Ronald Dupont Jr.
Herald Editor

In this photo taken from a videotaped deposition, Assistant City Clerk Alan Henderson looks through a box of election material to see if absentee ballots are numbered. Henderson, who served as the city's Supervisor of Elections, is accused of trying to influence voters to vote for incumbent James Lewis, of throwing away election materials he was supposed to keep, of leaving the absentee ballot box unlocked and opened in an unattended room, and of allowing people to get absentee ballots for others without filling out the proper paperwork.

ALACHUA - During the 2006 Alachua city elections, the city mishandled every absentee ballot, illegally destroyed election records, did not follow security procedures and did not properly audit the election, a strongly worded lawsuit against the city states.

City officials are even accused of trying to influence voters to favor an incumbent, and one woman said she was given an absentee ballot, then allowed to vote in the regular elections, meaning she could have voted twice if she had wanted.

The lawsuit, which is calling for the 2006 elections to be voided and for new elections to be held, asks for a judge to rule on the issue in "summary judgement" rather than take the matter to a trial. Those suing the city said there is so much evidence in the case that a judge can rule on the matter rather quickly.

But the city has responded, asking for a summary judgement of its own, asking for a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.

The judge will hear both arguments Tuesday, Jan. 16.

In a Dec. 22 letter, Robert Rush, the attorney representing the city, wrote to attorney Joe Little, saying the accusations are "merit-less."

"What I have received as evidence is hearsay and double hearsay, innuendo and rank speculation," Rush wrote to Little, who is representing those suing the city. "...Whatever concerns your plaintiffs initially had regarding the election are not supported by any material facts that would come close to establishing the burden of proof necessary to invalidate an election."

Election conduct leaves results in doubt, lawsuit states

Not true, Little contends in the request for summary judgement. He said state law says that if there is enough evidence about an election to come to the conclusion "that the outcome is in doubt," then a new election should be held.

"Plaintiffs respectfully submit that undisputed evidence conclusively established that (the city's) intentional, substantial and pervasive non-compliance with election procedures places the election in doubt," the lawsuit states.

Alachua Mayor Jean Calderwood points to where she sat when the absentee ballots were counted.

The lawsuit makes a number of strong accusations. It accusses the city of:

• Allowing some people to pick up absentee ballots for others when they were not legally allowed to do so;

• Allowing everyone picking up a ballot for somebody else to do so without filling out a required affidavit;

• Destroying unused ballots and records pertaining to many of the ballots when state law calls for the materials to be kept;

• Not counting at least four provisional ballots, even though they were reportedly delivered on time;

• Opening the provisional ballots at a time other than during the Canvassing Board meeting;

• Not having the Board of Canvassers perform its duties according to state law;

• Providing an absentee ballot record that "is plainly falsified;"

• Allowing a voter to vote twice and destroying the first ballot;

• Leaving the absentee ballot box unlocked and open in an unattended office;

City Manager Clovis Watson Jr. describes how the ballots were stacked.

• Leaving advertising materials for James Lewis in the room where people voted their absentee ballots at City Hall.

Many of the accusations center around the conduct of Alachua Assistant City Clerk Alan Henderson, who served as the city's Supervisor of Elections. Henderson is repeatedly accused of not following state election law in his handling of the absentee ballot voting process.

The lawsuit states that the absentee ballot box did not have a slit in the top in which people could place their ballots but, instead, Henderson had to open the box each time.

Lewis Irby, who ran for office and lost in that election, testified that he complained to City Manager Clovis Watson Jr. and to Henderson that the open, unlocked absentee ballot box was in Henderson's unattended office.

Irby said that Watson told Irby to "put his complaint in writing."

Henderson also is accused of throwing out election-related records, including a binder that allegedly contained day-to-day absentee ballot voting information.

"Henderson testified those records were 'probably assimiliated back into the earth,'" the court document states. "Worse, Henderson testified that he cannot account for all of the unvoted ballots that were issued for use in the election."

"Worst of all," the lawsuit continues, "Henderson has testified that he has destroyed most of the remaining ballots and ballot stubs and cannot produce the records needed to audit the election in this litigation."

Further, Henderson is accused of telling voters who were voting by absentee ballot in his office who to vote for. Three absentee ballot voters said that Henderson told them that there were two candidates -- one with 40 years experience, one with none and that "experience counts," or words to that effect, according to the lawsuit.

"How many other voters Henderson attempted to influence in James A. Lewis's favor is unknown but these episodes, plus all the remainder, place the election in doubt," the lawsuit states.

Henderson also is accused of letting a woman vote via absentee ballot, leave the office, then come back in and vote again, this time for James Lewis, with the old ballot being thrown out, according to the lawsuit.

Henderson said the ballot that was discarded was a "spoiled ballot," but those suing the city said that once a person has voted and left the voting area, they cannot come back and vote again, according to state law.

Questions about whether those who voted by absentee ballot were also allowed to vote on election day also were raised. Former Alachua Vice Mayor Tamara Robbins said she received an absentee ballot but decided not to use it because the address on the envelope did not match the address to which the material inside said the ballot should be sent.

She testified that when she showed up on election day to vote, nobody stopped her and nobody asked her for her absentee ballot before she could vote.

"Because (the city) did not conduct the election as prescribed by statute, an unscrupulous person could have voted twice with a good prospect of not being discovered," the lawsuit states. "Whether some other voters voted two ballots cannot be determined because Henderson has destroyed those records."

City Asserts That Claims Do Not Merit A New Election

In the city's motion for a summary judgement to dismiss the request for a new election, the city argues that many of the complaints are untrue and that even if some of them are true, none of them are strong enough to place the results of the election in doubt.

The city's initial argument focuses on the timeliness of the lawsuit. The city argues that the lawsuit was filed too late under state law and should be dismissed on that fact alone.

The city also argues that in the initial lawsuit, James Lewis was not sued and because he is an "indispensable party," under state law, the lawsuit should be thrown out.

Much of the city's stance, though, focuses on the many allegations made of improprieties in the election process.

"Even assuming, for sake of this motion only, that Plaintiffs could prove any of their allegations, their claim still fails as a matter of law because they have not established any fraud, misconduct, or the receipt of any illegal votes that is sufficient to change or place in doubt the result of the election," the city states in its legal documents.

The city continues, "Entire elections are set aside only when widespread voter fraud is proven or some other significant and pervasive irregularities that destroyed the integrity of the election. In this instance, Plaintfiffs' attempt to reach that level by stringing together a number of minor events -- real or perceived -- in a speculative effort to insinuate a broader problem for which they have no proof."