On September 8, U.S. Senator Roland Burris asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court opinion that says the only candidates on the ballot in this year’s special election for U.S. Senate should be the same candidates who are running for the six-year term.  See this story.  The case was Judge v Quinn, but is now styled Burris v Judge.  The original lawsuit had been filed in 2009 by Illinois voters who asked the federal courts to hold a special election for the two-month term that runs from November 2, 2010 until early January 2011.  Burris intervened in that case.  Here is Burris’s Emergency Application.

After the 7th circuit had ruled that Illinois must hold such a special election, the U.S. District Court had somewhat arbitrarily ruled that the nominees on the November 2010 ballot for the full 6-year term should also be the nominees listed on the ballot for the special election.  Burris is not running for the full term, but he would like to be the Democratic nominee for the short term.  The U.S. District Court order, in effect, took the choice of a nominee away from the political parties, and also the voters.  Burris was unable to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in this case until September 8, because it was only on September 8 that the 7th circuit denied him any relief.  Burris also suggests an alternate form of relief, that the special election be canceled.