Ninth Circuit Upholds Washington State Law Requiring Independent Presidential Candidates to Run Newspaper Ad Before Starting to Petition

On May 15, the Ninth Circuit issued a five-page unsigned order, upholding Washington state’s law that requires independent presidential candidates to run a newspaper legal notice at least ten days before the candidate may start to petition.  De La Fuente v Wyman, 18-35208.  The U.S. District Court had struck down the requirement, but the Ninth Circuit reversed.

The Ninth Circuit wrote, “It may be that Washington’s requirement is somewhat antiquated, and that publishing newspaper notices does little in this day and age to alert Washington’s voters to ongoing political activity.  But because the burden imposed by the notice requirement is ‘slight’, Washington must only show that the law furthers ‘important regulatory interests.’..As such, even the modest notice function served by newspaper publication is enough to justify the minimal intrusion on candidates’ free speech rights occasioned by the notice requirement.”


Comments

Ninth Circuit Upholds Washington State Law Requiring Independent Presidential Candidates to Run Newspaper Ad Before Starting to Petition — 6 Comments

  1. If the state monopoly claim of ownership of the ballot is illegitimate and unconstitutional, then a state cannot have any regulatory interest important or trivial.

    The state interest is restricted under the Constitution to holding elections, that is, collecting votes by ballot belonging to the voter on election day and in no way extends the pre-election day ballot censorship or discrimination against candidates and voters NOT specified in the Constitution.

  2. One more USELESS lawyer for Rocky.

    EQUAL in 14-1.

    ie EQUAL ballot access tests for ALL INDIVIDUAL candidates.

  3. @DFR,

    What part of the US Constitution restricts “election” to collecting ballots?

  4. Idiotic decision. Not only is this unnecessary, a lot less people read newspapers these days due to the internet.

  5. MAJOR FICTION —

    ALL ADULTS KNOW ALL LAWS ALL THE TIME.

    STANDARD- IGNORANCE OF THE *LAW* IS NO EXCUSE.

    REALITY – GOVTS OF, BY AND FOR THE $$$ O-L-I-G-A-R-C-H-S [OFTEN GUV MONARCHS] IN ALL STATES [REGARDLESS OF PREZ LINCOLN IN NOV 1863 AT GETTYSBURG]

    — VIA THE LEGISLATURE GERRYMANDER HACK ROBOTS IN EACH STATE — SINCE 1776 — AND NOW THE *ADMINISTRATIVE LAW* REGIMES – ZILLIONS OF REGS.

    CENTURIES OF BRAINWASHING — ESP. VIA ROTTED PUBLIK SKOOOOLS SINCE EARLY 1800S.


    PR AND APPV

  6. @Andy,

    Nothing precluded the American Delta party from communicating via the Internet with potential party members to attend a convention.Jim Riley

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