Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Rodney Alexander is a first term Democratic Congressman from Louisiana. Alexander filed for reelection as a Democrat. But last Friday afternoon, 20 minutes before filings closed, he refiled for election as a Republican.

However, Alexander's switch may have violated Louisiana election law. As the blogs MyDD and the Stakeholder explain:

”A voter in Louisiana is filing a legal challenge to defective Congressman Rodney Alexander's ballot qualification, and seeks an injunction preventing the Secretary of State from issuing ballots printed with his name. The petition, filed by a voter and based on both Louisiana statute and prior precedent, rightly argues that Alexander's SECOND filing 20 minutes before the deadline is in effect a withdrawal of his candidacy under Louisiana law since candidates are prohibited from amending their ballot qualification in any way once it has been made. Others in Louisiana have been tossed for just this kind of behavior in the past.”