The Election Law Program’s first war game was held in Virginia on May 16, 2012 in Norfolk. The goal of the war game was to troubleshoot state election statutes and educate judges about the unique nature of election litigation. Videos and supporting materials for the Virginia war game (scenario overview, briefs, etc.) are found here.
The hypothetical case used for this war game posed a scenario in which candidates in a too-close-to-call election for the U.S. Senate were separated by 203 votes. However, in one precinct, it appears that a DRE machine malfunctioned – registering zero votes in the race, despite normal vote totals in the U.S. Congressional and Presidential categories. The petitioner asks the court to examine the allegedly malfunctioning machine, even though statutory authority to do so is unclear.
Neither the real world candidates named in this hypothetical (or their actual attorneys or other representatives) were consulted on the content of this hypothetical or are in any way responsible for it. The two attorneys arguing each side of the hypothetical case did so as part of the exercise and do not actually represent their hypothetical clients.
The Election Law Program would like to thank the Deer Creek Foundation for its generous support of this war game.