Page:Legal Processes for Contesting the Results of a Presidential Election.pdf/9

 (4) Irregularities or improprieties occurred to such an extent that they taint the results of the entire election and cast doubt on its fairness. After a decision by the State Board of Elections, an aggrieved party may appeal the decision to the Superior Court of Wake County within 10 days of the date of service of the final decision.

Ohio appears to be an exception as far as election contests with respect to elections for federal office are concerned, including elections of presidential electors. The contested election procedure set out in the Ohio Code expressly states that it does not apply to an election for presidential elector, or for other federal office. Rather, the Ohio law provides that any such contests for presidential electors, as well as for other federal offices, “shall be conducted in accordance with the applicable provisions of federal law.”

In Pennsylvania, an election contest dealing with the selection of electors for President and Vice President of the United States must be filed within 20 days after the election, regardless of whether a recount of that election is proceeding or not. The contest is initiated by the filing of a petition in the appropriate court of jurisdiction in Pennsylvania by affidavit of at least five petitioners who are registered electors in Pennsylvania and who voted in the election being contested. The complaint must “concisely set forth the cause of the complaint, showing wherein it is claimed that the primary or election is illegal.” An “illegal” election refers to allegations of fraud or wrongdoing in the casting, computation, and returns of votes, and must aver facts which, if proven, would definitely change the results of the election.

In Virginia a contest to the election of electors for President and Vice President may be filed by a written complaint of one or more of the unsuccessful candidates, and contest proceedings are to be held in the Circuit Court of the City of Richmond before a special judicial panel. Such notice to contest must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the second calendar day after the State Board certifies the result of the election, and a copy of the complaint is to be served on each contestee within five days after the Board has certified the election. Grounds for the complaint are either objections to the eligibility of the contestee, or objections to the conduct or the results of the election “accompanied by specific allegations which, if proven true, would have a probable impact on the outcome of the election….” The contest is to be heard and determined without a Rh