On October 13, U.S. District Court Judge Jeanne Scott, a Clinton appointee, upheld Illinois ballot access law for independent candidates for the legislature. The law requires a petition signed by 10% of the last vote cast, due in December of the year before the election.
Judge Scott made no mention of the numerous court precedents that have declared petition requirements higher than 5% to be unconstitutional. Such cases are from Arkansas, North Carolina, Ohio and South Dakota. She also made no mention of a summary US Supreme Court opinion from 1977, striking down an April petition deadline for an independent candidate for the legislature. Nor did she mention court precedents striking down early petition deadlines for non-presidential independent candidates, from Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania.
This case, Lee v Illinois State Bd. of Elections, was sponsored by the Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE). COFOE is asking for funds for the appeal. Please send any help to COFOE, c/o Ballot Access News, PO Box 470296, San Francisco Ca 94147.
What does mean? I don’t understand this post…
Judge Jeanne Scott rulled that Illinois law is constitutional. Illinois independent candidates for the legislature must get 10% of the people in that district to sign a petition for their candidate by December before the election.
The stuff after that is referencing previous court decisions that shows the judge is not following any previous precidents. The number of petitions needed must be 5% or less. The deadline for the petitions to be due should be later than April.
COFOE is apealing the decision and is asking for money to do so.