Pick Up Where We Left Off

Last night, I sent an email to the Honorable Jean Brown, Chief Legal Advisor to the Secretary of State in Alabama. This morning, when I opened my inbox, I was surprised to see a reply! You can imagine my embarrasment when Ms. Brown informed me that all that had been delivered was a partial sentence. For your amusement, here is the complete exchange:

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From: Brown, Jean Jean.Brown@sos.alabama.gov
Subject: RE:To: juriggs@yahoo.com
Date: Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 7:40 AM

Mr. Riggs,

Although I have received three email communications from you, they all contain an incomplete sentence and I am thus unable to determine how to help you. If you will resend another communication setting forth your question, I will be happy to assist you.

Sincerely,

Jean Brown

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From: Justin Riggs [mailto:juriggs@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, December 03, 2008 8:49 AM
To: Brown, Jean
Subject: RE:

Ms. Brown,

How embarassing. I'm very sorry for the inconvenience. The complete message, with subject"*TIME SENSITIVE* Alabama Code (Elections) Question" is showing as sent at 11:53 in my "Sent" folder, but perhaps it didn't make it. Either way, here is my question, in its entirety. Thank you for your patience and prompt reply.

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Ms. Brown,

I apologize for the multiple messages. I'm not sure how my other message got sent. My tired fingers must have pressed a button they weren't supposed to!

As I was saying, Section 17-13-6 of the Alabama Code reads:

Only qualified candidates to be listed on ballots.The name of no candidate shall be printed upon any official ballot used at any primary election unless such person is legally qualified to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate and unless he or she is eligible to vote in the primary election in which he or she seeks to be a candidate and possesses the political qualifications prescribed by the governing body of his or her political party.

My question is this: who is responsible for ensuring that each candidate is "legally qualified to hold the office for which he or she is a candidate"?

For example, the Democratic Party's "Delegate Selection Rules For the 2008 Democratic National Convention" states that:

Based on the right of the Democratic Party to freely assemble and to determine the criteria for its candidates, it is determined that all candidates for the Democratic nomination for President or Vice President shall:

a. be registered to vote, and shall have been registered to vote in the last election for the office of President and Vice President; and

b. have demonstrated a commitment to the goals and objectives of theDemocratic Party as determined by the National Chair and will participate in the Convention in good faith.

2. It is further determined that these requirements are in addition to the requirements set forth by the United States Constitution and any law of the United States.

I want to make sure my question is clear, so let's take Barack Obama as an example. According to the Alabama Code, Obama's name should have appeared on the primary ballot only if:

a) he was legally qualified to hold the office for which he was a candidate (President)
b) he was eligible to vote in the primary election in which he sought to be a candidate
c) he possessed the political qualifications prescribed by the governing body of his political party, which were:
i) he had to be registered to vote
ii) he had to have been registered to vote in the last election for the office of Presidentand Vice President
iii) he had to have "demonstrated a commitment to the goals and objectives of theDemocratic Party as determined by the National Chair"
iv) he had to demonstrate that he would participate in the Convention in good faithAND
v) he had to meet the requirements set forth by the United States Constitution, and
vi) meet the requirements set forth by any law of the United States

That's a lot of requirements; yet, according to your law, his name couldn't have been printed upon the ballot UNLESS (NOTE: revised from original message) he was legally qualified to hold the office AND possessed the qualifications set out by his own party. Somebody had to check his credentials before placing him on the ballot. Who was it? Or, more generally speaking, who checks the credentials of all candidates placed upon the primary ballot in Alabama, and ensures that Section 17-13-6 of the Alabama Code is enforced?I want to thank you in advance for your time. I am certain that you are very busy, and I appreciate you taking the time to respond to my request. (NOTE: Because of your response, I will no longer fax a copy of the request to your office) I will be faxing you a copy of this request as well, and ask that you respond by 5 pm, Friday December 5th. If that will not be possible, please email me with an approximate date by which I can anticipate your response.I thank you again, and wish you a happy holiday season.

Your Fellow Citizen,

Justin W. Riggs

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Mr. Riggs,

I have forwarded your email to Rob Johnston, one of our elections attorneys, for a response.
Thank you for your wishes for a happy holiday season and I wish the same for you.

Sincerely,

Jean Brown

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Thank you very much. I don't want to appear forceful, but is there a timeframe in which I can expect to hear back from Mr. Johnston?

Thank you again for your time. You have been more than accomodating, and I sincerely appreciate it.

Justin

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I have let him know that you need a reply by December 5th at the latest.

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Fantastic. I'll let you get some work done now!

Justin

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As you can see, Ms. Brown was more than accomodating. I am extremely grateful for her professional demeanor, her responsiveness, and her willingness to work with me. If only all people could be half so helpful!