Hand-counting measure effort fizzles in North Dakota

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A proposed ballot measure in North Dakota that sought to require hand-counting of every election ballot, among other proposals, won't advance.

Initiative leader Lydia Gessele said Thursday the group won't be submitting signatures by a Friday deadline because they fell short by about 4,000 signatures of the 31,164 needed for the constitutional measure to appear on the ballot. The group had one year to gather signatures.

Deadlines for the measure to make the state's June and November 2024 ballots came and went, though the group could have submitted signatures to appear on the June 2026 ballot.

The measure proposed myriad changes including mandating hand counts of all ballots; banning voting machines, electronic processing devices and early voting; restricting mail ballots; and allowing any U.S. citizen to verify or audit an election in North Dakota at any time.

Hand counting of ballots has been a focus of supporters of former President Donald Trump, who has made disproven claims of election fraud for his 2020 loss to Joe Biden.

Critics say hand-counting of ballots takes a long time, delays results and is more prone to errors. Supporters, who are suspicious of tabulators and machines, say hand-counting is more trustworthy, with volunteers who are willing to do it.

Last week, the Georgia State Election Board approved a new rule requiring the hand-counting of the number of paper ballots — a move opponents fear will cause delays and problems for presidential election results in the key swing-state. A lawsuit is challenging the rule.

In June, voters in three South Dakota counties rejected hand-counting measures. Hand-count legislation in New Hampshire and Kansas failed earlier this year after passing one committee, according to a spokesperson for the Voting Rights Lab.

North Dakota, the only state without voter registration, uses only paper ballots, which are counted by electronic tabulators. Absentee voting began Thursday in the Peace Garden State.

Nearly 44% of North Dakota voters participated by early voting or by mail in the November 2022 election.

FILE - North Dakota State Election Director Erika White, left, accepts ballot measure paperwork from Lydia Gessele, right, at the state Capitol in Bismarck, N.D., Sept. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The baseball program at the University of California, Los Angeles, was locked out of its home stadium on veterans’ land near the campus Thursday under an order issued by a federal judge.

The ruling late Wednesday from Judge David O. Carter prohibits UCLA from accessing Jackie Robinson Stadium and an adjacent practice field until it produces a plan that ensures service to veterans is the predominant focus of the 10-acre (4-hectare) facility leased from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Los Angeles Times reported that UCLA Chancellor Darnell Hunt appeared for a hearing during which the school's attorney urged Carter to accept a proposal that was focused on increasing services to veterans.

“It’s more than a lease,” attorney Ray Cardozo said. “It’s a partnership. It’s a good trade-off from our perspective.”

But Carter declared the proposal inadequate and ordered the VA to cordon off the stadium and practice field until further notice from the court.

Following a four-week trial that ended earlier this month, Carter's decision declared the UCLA lease illegal because its focus was not predominantly service to veterans.

Under a slightly different legal standard, he also invalidated leases to the nearby Brentwood School, an oil drilling operation and two parking lots for the same reasons, the Times said.

The class-action lawsuit alleged the VA had failed to provide adequate housing for veterans and that its leases at its 388-acre (157-hectare) campus in West LA violated an 1888 deed to the U.S. government for the “permanent maintenance” of a home for disabled soldiers.

Carter previously ordered the VA to produce 750 units of temporary housing and 1,800 units of permanent housing on the campus in addition to the 1,200 to 1,600 planned in connection with an earlier lawsuit.

FILE - UCLA players take batting practice at Jackie Robinson Stadium before their NCAA college baseball tournament regional game against Maryland in Los Angeles, June 1, 2015. (AP Photo/Jayne Kamin-Oncea, File)