Judge reverses election for state Senate Woodward declared winner, Stephenson to appeal ruling Courier-Journal.com, November 23, 2004 by Joseph Gerth A Jefferson circuit judge overturned the 37th District Kentucky Senate election yesterday, ruling that the winner, Republican Dana Seum Stephenson did not meet state residency requirements. Instead, the court ruled that Stephenson's Democratic opponent, Virginia Woodward, is the "de facto winner" of the election even though she lost by 1,022 votes on Election Day. Jim Milliman, Stephenson's lawyer, said he will appeal the decision to the Kentucky Court of Appeals and will try to throw the controversy to the Republican-controlled state Senate. "I don't know if this will rise to the level of a constitutional crisis but it could become a constitutional morass," Milliman said. Woodward said she expects Republican Senate President David Williams to swear her in when the General Assembly convenes in January. "I'm sure Sen. Williams will uphold the constitution as he is charged to do as president of the Senate and follow orders of the courts and the state Board of Elections when they certify my election," she said. In an interview last night, Stephenson said she is "moving on to the next step." She declined further comment on the advice of her lawyer. Her father, state Sen. Dan Seum, R-Louisville, said it had been "an emotional day" but that he believes his daughter will win in the end. "The judge didn't have jurisdiction to rule in this case," he said. The court ruled that Stephenson resided in Indiana during four of the six years before the election, making her ineligible to run for the office under the Kentucky Constitution. The constitution requires that Senate candidates live in the district where they are running for one year before the election and in Kentucky for the six years before the election. In a 14-page decision, Jefferson Circuit Judge Barry Willett ruled in favor of Woodward on every point — although he said he didn't like the idea of disenfranchising the more than 22,000 people who voted for Stephenson. "Ideally, this court would like to call a special election to enable each voter in this district an opportunity to cast a ballot again for the candidate of his or her choice. ... However, the legislature (in the law) did not provide this as a potential remedy for this situation," he wrote. Milliman argued that the court didn't have standing to rule on whether his client could be a candidate — he said that was up to the state Senate — and that Woodward waited too long to challenge Stephenson's candidacy. Woodward's challenge came a day before the election. Milliman said she should have filed her complaint by Sept. 20, when early and absentee voting began. Willett rejected that argument, saying state law requires the challenge be filed before the election begins and that the law clearly defines the election date as the Tuesday after the first Monday of November. He also ruled that state law clearly gave the courts jurisdiction to determine the qualifications of candidates. Milliman argued that Stephenson met the residency requirement because she spent some nights in the city and always planned to return. He also claimed the six-year residency requirement is unconstitutional. Willett rejected both those arguments. The fact that Stephenson bought a home in Jeffersonville, Ind., registered and voted there and got an Indiana driver's license meant that she was not a resident of Kentucky, Willett ruled. He also ruled that the residency requirement is constitutional because the state has an interest in requiring candidates for certain offices to be knowledgeable about the area. Milliman said in filing his appeal, he would ask the Court of Appeals to pass the case directly to the Kentucky Supreme Court. He said he would also ask the Republican-controlled state Senate to rule because state law gives the Senate authority to decide contested Senate elections. Senate President David Williams had already intervened in the case, arguing through a lawyer that the court had no jurisdiction to determine the winner — that membership in the Senate is up to the Senate itself as defined in the Kentucky Constitution. In a statement yesterday Williams said, "Our attorneys have received the judge's opinion, and we are now meeting to carefully review it. We disagree with the opinion and will take all actions necessary to protect the Kentucky State Senate's constitutional authority over the election process." But Jennifer Moore, Woodward's lawyer, said the case is straightforward and that Willett interpreted the law the only way he could. "Judge Willett upheld the Kentucky Constitution today," she said. She added that the case should not be decided in the Senate because the Senate has authority only to decide election challenges. She said Woodward's challenge was actually a pre-election challenge, which should be decided in the courts. Woodward said she had no problem taking office even though she lost the popular vote. "I believe absolutely that this is the way the system is meant to work," she said. "It's unfortunate that the other candidate was ineligible to run." If the ruling is upheld, the state Senate will be divided between 22 Republicans and 16 Democrats, the same as before the 2004 election.