Although Illinois has drawn new U.S. House district boundaries for the 2010’s decade, those boundaries are under legal attack and could conceivably change before the March 2012 primary. On August 26, a U.S. District Court in Chicago ruled that signatures collected by candidates seeking a place on the primary ballot in 2012 are valid, even if the boundaries later change. See this story.
This ruling may help the Illinois Green Party, which is fighting to retain its qualified status in over a dozen U.S. House and state legislative districts. Illinois says a party that polled 5% for a partisan district office in one election is then qualified to be on the ballot automatically in the next election for that district office, even if the party is not qualified statewide. However, even though the Green Party has this status in over a dozen districts from the 2010 election, elections officials may eliminate the party’s status on the grounds that the boundaries of those districts changed.
Huh? Their reasoning makes no sense. Sounds like our good pals, the gerrymanderers, are at it again with their shenanigans to stay in power…
One more MORON judge — to be over-ruled asap by an emergency appeal.
current mess – Election AREAS (with or without gerrymander districts) – Electors in such AREAS.
This question isn’t directly related, but it is suggested by the story above. Is the following a potential grounds for a constitutional challenge on equal protection grounds? If not, why not?
The Purple Party and the Orange Party both have support statewide that falls below the threshold for a ballot line. But the Orange Party’s support is concentrated in specific districts, giving it a ballot line in those districts. Why doesn’t this discriminate against the Purple Party and in favor of the Orange Party, solely on the basis of geographic distribution? The state cannot possibly have any interest — much less a compelling interest — in favoring parties because they do or not have any specific geographic pattern of support. Ne c’est pas?
#5 So if the Orange Party is a regional party, they would be kept off the ballot?
# 3 Office – AREA — has ZERO to do with any other AREAS.
Way too difficult for MORON lawyers and judges to understand ???
Was even the Republican party a bit regional in many States in 1854 ???