The Latest: New Mexico court blocks straight-ticket option
Top Stories & Analysis
The New Mexico Supreme Court is blocking a ballot option that would have allowed voters to select candidates from one particular party in all races by marking a single box.
The court made its decision Wednesday after listening to oral arguments about a plan from the state's top elections regulator to reinstate straight-ticket voting in the November general election.
The court found that Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver did not have authority to impose such a change.
Critics of the practice say it primarily harms independent, minor-party and Republican candidates in a state dominated by registered Democrats.
They argued in court that state law doesn't clearly say whether authority to design ballot forms extends to substantive decisions about straight-party voting, and that Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver should have consulted the public through the rulemaking process.
The New Mexico Supreme Court has indicated it will decide Wednesday whether voters should be allowed to select candidates from a particular party in all races by marking a single ballot box.
At issue is a plan from the state's top elections regulator to reinstate straight-ticket voting in the November general election.
Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver argued she has authority over ballot forms, including the discretion to determine whether to include a straight-party voting option.
Critics questioned that authority Wednesday, saying such decisions should be made by the Legislature and should be informed by data on voting behavior. They also raised concerns that no public hearings were held before Toulouse Oliver announced the change.
Related listings
-
Myanmar rejects int'l court's right to Rohingya probe
Top Stories & Analysis 09/07/2018Myanmar's government on Friday rejected an International Criminal Court ruling that it has jurisdiction to investigate allegations that Myanmar security forces violated international law by driving hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims from their...
-
Indian Supreme Court orders house arrest for activists
Top Stories & Analysis 08/30/2018India's top court ordered Wednesday that five prominent rights activists arrested for alleged Maoist links be kept under house arrest instead of police custody until it rules next week on a petition challenging their detention.Police, meanwhile, brok...
-
Austrian court's approval for spy agency raid was illegal
Top Stories & Analysis 08/28/2018Judges in Austria say a lower court's authorization for police to raid the offices of the country's domestic intelligence agency was illegal.The regional court in Vienna said Tuesday that the search of the BVT spy agency on Feb. 28 wasn't justified b...
Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC
A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party
Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.