On July 25, the Third Circuit set a briefing schedule in Constitution Party of Pennsylvania v Aichele, 13-1952. The parties’ first brief is due September 3, 2013. This is the case that challenges Pennsylvania’s unique challenge-system that puts petitioning groups at risk of huge court fees if their petitions are found insufficient. The U.S. District Court had ruled that the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties don’t have standing to challenge the system, which was an absurd conclusion give that the Constitution Party withdrew its 2012 petition because it was afraid of the possibility of the financial risk.
Good. I’d like to see common sense and democracy (in the sense of freer democratic elections) start to make a comeback. I’d like to see it happen…but it still seems a longshot given recent nation-wide political developments which flout the Constitution and what the obviously corrupt District Court ruled earlier in this case. I wish the PA Constitution, Green, and Libertarian parties the best of luck.