CASE STUDIES IN EMERGENCY ELECTION LITIGATION

Federal Judicial Center 11/2/2023 1

No Right to Cast a Paper Ballot 

Bryan v. Abramson (Harvey Bartle III, D.V.I. 1:10-cv-79) 

A pro se complaint sought a right to cast a paper ballot instead of 

voting electronically or casting a provisional ballot. The court determined that the complaint did not present a federal question. A local 

court determined that the claim was without merit. 

Subject: Voting procedures. Topics: Matters for state courts; 

provisional ballots; voting technology; pro se party; Help America 

Vote Act (HAVA). 

A former Virgin Islands senator filed a pro se federal complaint in the District 

of the Virgin Islands on August 17, 2010, claiming that there was no legal authority for a plan to require voters who elected not to cast votes electronically 

to vote using provisional ballots.1 Among the relief sought in the complaint 

were a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction.2

Chief Judge Curtis V. Gómez issued an order on August 24 setting an August 26 hearing before Judge Harvey Bartle III and ordering notice to Virgin 

Islands election officials.3

At a hearing held on this matter, plaintiff contended that the electronic voting machines have a record of failing to record votes accurately and that provisional ballots are not counted at the polling sites but are sent to a central 

location where they are tabulated under the aegis of the Joint Board of Elections. He objects to this counting procedure because, in his view, the Joint 

Board is rife with conflicts of interest as a number of the board members are 

employees of the government or its elected officials.4

Judge Bartle dismissed the complaint for lack of federal jurisdiction on 

August 31.5 Although the plaintiff cited the Help America Vote Act6 in his 

complaint, and the act does provide for provisional ballots, the plaintiff did 

not allege how the Virgin Islands plan violated federal law.7

1. Complaint, Bryan v. Abramson, No. 1:10-cv-79 (D.V.I. Aug. 17, 2010), D.E. 1; see Bill 

Kossler, Elections Board Hoping to Bolster Faith in Voting Machines, St. Croix Source, Sept. 

27, 2010. 

2. Complaint, supra note 1, at 5; Scheduling Order, Bryan, No. 1:10-cv-79 (D.V.I. Aug. 24, 

2010), D.E. 8. 

3. Scheduling Order, supra note 2. 

Judge Gómez was replaced by Judge Robert Molloy in 2020. See Judicial Milestones, 

www.uscourts.gov/judicial-milestones/robert-molloy; Suzanne Carlson, AG: 17-Year-Old 

VLT Contract Was Never Legal, V.I. Daily News, May 12, 2020; Suzanne Carlson, Judge Robert 

Molloy Confirmed to District Court, V.I. Daily News, Feb. 26, 2020. 

4. Opinion, Bryan, No. 1:10-cv-79 (D.V.I. Aug. 31, 2010), D.E. 17 [hereinafter D.V.I. Opinion]. 

5. Id. at 11. 

6. Pub. L. No. 107-252, 116 Stat. 1666 (2002), as amended, 52 U.S.C. §§ 20901–21145. See 

generally Marie Leary & Robert Timothy Reagan, The Help America Vote Act (Federal Judicial Center 2012); Symposium, HAVA @ 10, 12 Election L.J. 111 (2013). 

7. D.V.I. Opinion, supra note 4. 
No Right to Cast a Paper Ballot 

2 Federal Judicial Center 11/2/2023 

On October 10, the Virgin Islands’ superior court also denied the plaintiff 

relief sought in a complaint also filed on August 17.8

8. Opinion, Bryan v. Abramson, No. SX-10-CV-0000363 (V.I. Super. Ct. Oct. 10, 2010), 

2010 WL 7746073.