On August 12, a Michigan state court ruled when an individual signs the same petition twice, the state law striking both signatures violates the U.S. Constitution. In re City of Benton Harbor Mayoral Recall Election, Berrien County 2014-0117. The opinion finds that some individuals, in good faith, sign a petition a second time because they don’t remember if they already signed it or not.
The Secretary of State had filed a brief in support of the restriction. As a result of the decision, a recall petition for the Mayor of Benton Harbor now has enough valid signatures. Thanks to John Anthony LaPietra for the news.
“The Secretary of State had filed a brief in support of the restriction” – a Republican, FYI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruth_Johnson
I wish that this decision had held up — or even, I suppose, that the higher courts had given reasons for reversing it, although then the reversal would be binding precedent. Instead, the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed without comment or explanation to the clerk’s motion for peremptory reversal (which would have required egregious error on the part of the trial court, and there was none) — and the Michigan Supreme Court declined to review the case despite the state and Federal Constitutional issues involved.