On March 19, Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed HB 114. It moves the deadline for candidates for state office to file a declaration of candidacy from April 1, to the last Tuesday in January. It has an emergency clause so it takes effect immediately.
Kentucky elects all its statewide state executive officers, including Governor, in the odd years before presidential election years. The Libertarian Party has no members who had already filed a declaration of candidacy for any of those offices, so now the Libertarians can’t run for any of those offices this year, even though the party is ballot-qualified.
There are many precedents that it violates due process to make ballot access more difficult in the middle of the election year season. If any Libertarian, or any independent candidate, were to sue that this new law can’t be applied to the 2019 election, it is highly likely that the lawsuit would win. For independents and the nominees of unqualified parties, the petition itself is not due until August 2019. UPDATE: the Libertarian Party has a pair of candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, and they are likely to sue.
Attention genius lawyers —
INDIVIDUAL candidates are elected.
EQUAL ballot access tests.
Much too difficult for the SCOTUS MORON hacks to understand ???
This is too early to the point of being ridiculous, and applying it to this election, when they just passed it now, is ex post facto, and should therefore be illegal.
Andy, you’re right in general, but “ex post facto” means criminal laws, so the better term for this situation is “due process.”
West Virginia tried to do the same thing this year but, thankfully, failed: http://www.wvlegislature.gov/Bill_Status/bills_text.cfm?billdoc=hb2692%20intr.htm&yr=2019&sesstype=RS&i=2692
SCOTUS morons have been screwing up *due process* esp since 1868 – 14th Amdt.
CORRUPT OLIGARCH HACKS LOVE retroactive laws — esp. tax and election laws.
One more const amdt —
NOOOOO retroactive law or treaty shall be passed.
The WAR for REAL Democracy continues.