On March 8, Ohio filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that that court should not accept the Ohio independent petition deadline case (for candidates for Congress). Lawrence v Blackwell, 05-1089. The brief argues that the U.S. Constitution requires that states treat all candidates equally, and that it would be unfair to Democrats and Republicans (who nominate for all office in March, in presidential years) if independents were permitted to submit their petitions later. Of course, the principle that all candidates must be treated equally is completely forgotten when Ohio decides how many signatures each candidate needs. Republicans and Democrats running for US House in Ohio each need 50 signatures, but independents need approximately 2,500 this year, and new parties need 56,280 signatures this year.
The US Supreme Court will probably decide whether to hear Lawrence v Blackwell in late June.
David Salie here.
I was Governor Howard Dean’s Director of House
Party Fundraising during the Dean for America campaign. Now I’m
working for the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and its National
Campaign for Fair Elections. We’re having a reception with our
Election Protection coalition partner, the Electronic Frontier
Foundation, this Thursday evening, May 11th, in downtown San
Francisco. We’ve invited “Angel Investors” who are interested in
making an early financial commitment to the work that our coalition
is already implementing on the ground for our three-year plan to
improve the integrity of America’s election system.
I need a few volunteers to help with this event. If you or anyone
you know in the Bay area is interested in helping to raise awareness
and funds for election reform, please contact me directly. Thanks!
Oh, and don’t worry. We’ll be doing more of these in other cities,
too. So feel free to contact me if you can help elsewhere!
-d
David Salie
Director of Development, National Campaign for Fair Elections
Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
c. 202 903 6813
dsalie@lawyerscommittee.org