Denise Merrill Rules Against Republicans; Democrats Will Keep Top Line On Election Ballots

The secretary of the state ruled against Republicans on Friday, saying that the Democrats will keep the top line on the 2012 election ballot.

Republicans had appealed the decision of Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, a longtime Democrat, to place the Democrats on the top line in the 2011 municipal elections after charging that Merrill made a mistake last year on the ballot line because of the complicated results of the 2010 race for governor.

Although Democrat Dannel P. Malloy won the race in 2010, he did it with a combination of votes from both the Democratic Party and the union-backed Working Families Party. As a result, Republican Tom Foley captured more votes on the Republican line than Malloy captured on the Democratic line.

The top party on the line is normally the party of the winning candidate for governor, but the Republicans now want that reversed because of Foley’s vote count.

“We believe we have a solid case to make that Republican candidates for office this fall should be placed first, based on the results of the 2010 gubernatorial election,” House GOP leader Larry Cafero of Norwalk said. “We have case law to support our position.”

But Merrill said in a letter Friday that she interpreted the law in a different way.

Merrill wrote to Cafero and others that “you do not differentiate between the appearance of a candidate on the ballot by party nomination and by nominating petition with a party designation. Taking this crucial difference into account results in the conclusion reached by my office in 2011: the Democratic Party is listed on the first row on the ballot followed by the Republican Party listed on the second row.”

The key point, according to Merrill, is that “votes cast for candidates appearing on two separate lines on the ballot are to be treated as votes for the candidate and included in such candidate’s vote totals for such election.’’

To back up their case, Republicans cited the election of Republican Governor George Pataki in New York State in 1994. Pataki defeated incumbent Governor Mario Cuomo, but only after the votes of the Republican and Conservative Party lines were added together. As a Democrat, Cuomo captured more votes on his line than Pataki did on the Republican line.

For the next four years, the Democrats held the top spot on the ballot in New York State.

“For purposes of balloting, we should be on the top line,’’ Cafero said Thursday in an interview. “Mario Cuomo had the most on the Democratic line. … We are stating that the Secretary of the State got it wrong in 2011.’’

But Merrill said Friday that there are differences in the precise language of the laws between New York and Connecticut – leading to a different result.

Merrill is a Democrat who was elected in the statewide election at the same time as Malloy in November 2010.

Merrill’s spokesman, Av Harris, said Thursday that Republicans would have the right to file a lawsuit over the issue if they disagreed with Merrill’s interpretation.

“It’s pretty normal for our office to get sued during an election year,” Harris said. “If they feel that determination aggrieves them in any way or does them harm, of course they can seek redress in the courts. That would be true if anybody was upset with any determination we made.”

Sen. Andrew Roraback, a Republican who represents 15 towns in Litchfield County, was disappointed by Merrill’s ruling.

“The thing about the Democrats having a monopoly on power in Connecticut is that it puts them in a position of saying, ‘Heads I win, tails you lose,’ ‘’ Roraback said. “We have been shut out, and that’s not only bad for Republicans, but it’s bad for all citizens of Connecticut.”

He added, “My campaign certainly isn’t going to go to court over this, but I would not be disappointed if the state Republican Party chose to get a ruling. It’s only fair that if you don’t secure the majority of votes on your party’s line, that you shouldn’t get that added boost. You can’t have your cake and eat it, too.’’