On April 30, a U.S. District Court in Rhode Island held a hearing in Block v Mollis, no. 09-47. The case challenges certain aspects of Rhode Island’s law on how a group can become a qualified party by petition. Rhode Island makes it illegal for such a petition to be circulated in odd years, and requires a number of signatures equal to 5% of the last vote cast. The 5% petition procedure has existed since 1994 and no group has ever managed to use it. The case was filed by the Moderate Party, which needs 23,589 valid signatures to become a qualified party, and which would like to begin working on that petition as soon as possible.

The Director of the Elections Division testified that the state doesn’t want such petitions turned in during odd years, because the Division is busy in odd years, cleaning up the list of registered voters. A decision is likely in a month.