Ballot Access News

On May 5, the Florida Senate passed HB 1355, the 157-page omnibus election law bill. It returns to the House because the version passed by the House is not exactly the same. The vote in the Senate was 25-13. All twelve Democrats voted “No”, and one Republican Senator also voted “No.” UPDATE: a few hours later, the House passed the bill by 80-37.

The bill makes it virtually impossible for a new political party, or an old political party that does not have “national committee” status, to place a presidential nominee on the ballot. It also tells all political parties that they may not nominate someone (for any office) who was a registered member of another party during the year before filing.

Assuming the bill is signed into law, the ballot access provisions will be challenged in court.

On May 4, the 8th circuit issued a 7-page opinion in Constitution Party of South Dakota v Nelson, 10-2910. This is a case on the constitutionality of South Dakota’s ban on out-of-state circulators, which has only existed since 2007. The 8th circuit concluded that none of the plaintiffs have standing, and dismissed the case without prejudice.

The out-of-state plaintiff in this lawsuit who wanted to circulate petitions to help the Constitution Party place candidates on its own primary ballot, Mark Pickens, never actually submitted a declaration that he wanted to do this work. Of course, that is not Mark Pickens’ fault; he is not an attorney and was not the person charged with knowing legal technicalities. The 8th circuit’s action in dismissing the case without prejudice is helpful to opponents of state bans on out-of-state circulators. The U.S. District Court Judge had believed the plaintiffs do have standing and had upheld the ban on out-of-state circulators, but his opinion is now overruled.

The next outcome involving bans on out-of-state circulators in states within the 8th circuit will come soon, in a pending Nebraska case, Citizens in Charge v Gale. That case is in U.S. District Court and was argued early this year.

On May 4, the 3rd circuit heard arguments in Carl Lewis’s lawsuit to get on the ballot, to run for the New Jersey State Senate in the June 2011 Democratic primary. See this story. Carl Lewis is well-known for his Olympic track success several decades ago. He has filed lawsuits in state court arguing that he meets the 4-year residency requirement, in addition to his federal lawsuit arguing that the State Constitutional provision violates the U.S. Constitution.