Ruling on the Request for Judicial Review: Election Cancellation and Ballot Nullification

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RULING ON THE REQUEST FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW:

ELECTION CANCELLATION AND BALLOT NULLIFICATION

Opinion of the Court delivered by Justice d’Aryn

 

Joined by:

Chief Justice Gray

Justice Baelius

 

The opinion of the Supreme Court of the Holy Orenian Empire, as delivered by the Right Honorable, Justice d’Aryn, is as follows; 

 

The Honorable, Mr. Samuel T. Savoyard, henceforth referred to as Mr. Savoyard, filed a suit shortly after the declaration of electoral cancellation and rescheduling was announced to the citizens of the Holy Orenian Empire, wherein the Supreme Court of the Holy Orenian Empire, henceforth referred to as the Court, has granted reviewal on the basis of the following arguments;

 

The Honorable, Mr. Savoyard states within his filing to the Court that the Secretary of Civil Affairs does not contain the right to cancel nor reschedule the electoral process of the Imperial Diet, as denoted within the Council of State Edict of Establishment, as reinforced and clarified by the Pompourelian Reforms. 

 

The Honorable, Mr Savoyard further states within his request to the Court that the Secretary of Civil Affairs does not contain the right to discard and nullify ballots that stands within the legal bounds of the Oren Revised Code, henceforth the ORC, wherein the Honorable, Mr. Savoyard argues that such action is against the principles of the ORC CH301.041 ‘The Right to Suffrage’;

   

301.041 - Citizens of the nation shall maintain the right to suffrage in national elections. [Oren Revised Code, CH301 ‘On Personhood’]

 

It is the opinion of the Court that language of the article is clear, that all citizens within the Holy Orenian Empire shall throughout the electoral process contain the right of suffrage and thereby the right to vote within all national elections. 

 

The Council of State argues within their Amicus Brief, as submitting to the Court, that all cancellation throughout the election of seventeen ninety-four is validated through the following argument as denoted within the brief; 

       

“Furthermore, to permit the proper procedure of the elections to occur, the Crown is explicitly given direct control over the Diets summon process, therein the national elections, and is thereby allowed to execute orders in relation to the election. Within the following cite is found the explicit control of the Diets summon, therein the national elections; 

 

602.043 -  The Crown, expressed in the person of His Imperial Majesty the Holy Orenian Emperor, is the linchpin of the reformed system. He shall call the Imperial Diet to session through a summons. In respect to the House of Commons, this is expressed through a national election. In respect to the House of Lords, this is expressed through his appointees. As a session of the Imperial Diet draws to its conclusion for one reason or another, the Crown shall dissolve the Imperial Diet. When the Crown summons the Imperial Diet again, the process is repeated. A session of the legislature shall sit for an amount of time that is flexible. [Oren Revised Code, CH602 ‘On the Imperial Diet’]

 

Upon the report of the Chancellor of the Elections to his Majesty, the Holy Orenian Empire Joseph II, wherein the Chancellor verbally reported an amount of fraudulent votes of an amount upwards of twenty-five percent, found throughout the process noted above, were present within the elections of seventeen ninety-four, the Holy Orenian Emperor elected to utilize the rights of the above denotion from the Oren Revised Code to halt the entirety of the election. Wherein such pause of the election would permit the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in cooperation with his Majesty, the Holy Orenian Emperor Joseph II, and the Chancellor of Elections to find further ways to improve the safety of the elections of seventeen ninety-four prior to moving forward with the elections itself and thereby ensure the truthful will and voice of the people are heard prior to calling the results of the election of seventeen ninety-four. [Amicus Brief of the Council of State in Response to ‘Judicial Review: Election Cancellation and Ballot Nullification’]”

 

Wherein the Court recognizes the power of the monarch, in this scenario his Majesty Joseph II, permits the electoral process to be cancelled through the order of the monarch, and thereby invalidate the argument presented throughout the first section of the Amicus Brief submitted to the Court by the Honorable, Mr. Savoyard.

 

However, it is the opinion of the Court, that the Amicus Brief submitted to the Court by the Council of State does not provide legal argumentation against the points brought forth within the second and third section of the Amicus Brief submitted to the Court by the Honorable, Mr Savoyard,  wherein the Court sees the following notion as accurate to the principles of law; 

   

“Now, one may be misled into believing Civil Affairs has this authority from their ability to discard fraudulent votes. However, this is because fraudulent ‘ballots’ are merely forgeries of legal documents, and are not legally binding themselves. The Secretary of Civil Affairs, per the Orenian Revised Code, has a duty to certify legal documents, and it is this duty that is exercised when fraudulent ballots are thrown out:

 

601.099 - The power to approve or deny the certification of any binding legal documents within the Holy Orenian Empire. [Oren Revised Code, CH601 ‘On the Council of State’]

 

However, this is not what happened in the act under judicial review. The Secretary had already certified the ballots and determined which were authentic and which were not, and then His Excellency threw out all of them without regard for their authenticity. This means the Secretary threw out ballots that were already determined as legitimate, and therefore were legally binding. Throwing out certified ballots was outside of His Excellency’s authority with regards to certification(as that duty/power ends once the ballot is certified), and it was the unlawful destruction of legally binding documents.  [Amicus Brief of the Honorable, Mr. Savoyard in Response to ‘Judicial Review: Election Cancellation and Ballot Nullification’]”

 

In consideration of the above the Supreme Court of the Holy Orenian Empire, as delivered by the Right Honorable, Justice d’Aryn, sees fit to conclude; 

   

On the Cancellation and Resumption of the Election - It shall remain the right of the monarch, as denoted within the principles mentioned above, to rightfully summon, dissolve and cancel all forms of national elections held within the Holy Orenian Empire, and thereby rules against the Honorable, Mr Savoyard to resume the electoral process of seventeen ninety-four. 

 

On the Power of the Secretary of Civil Affairs to Discard Legal Ballots - The Court sees fit to rule in favor of the judicial review, as submitted by Mr. Savoyard, wherein the Secretary of Civil Affairs is not permitted to nullify ballots wherein their legitimacy has been confirmed prior to the nullification, as such shall be in violation of the principles of law wherein the right to suffrage and right to vote, combined with the clarification provided through the Pompourelian Reforms, explicitly prevents the Secretary of Civil Affairs to take the mentioned action within the electoral process of the Holy Orenian Empire. 

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“A fantastic ruling from the Gray Court.” says Leo.