On January 26, U.S. District Court Judge Yvette Kane heard testimony and arguments in Benezet Consulting v Cortes, m.d., 1:16cv-74. The issues are the ban on out-of-state circulators, the requirement that each petition sheet be notarized, and the ban on a voter signing for two candidates for the same office, as applied to primary petitions.

The hearing lasted six hours. The state mostly argued that the plaintiffs don’t have standing, and that they should have filed the lawsuit earlier. The judge said she will have a ruling out on Wednesday, January 27. The plaintiff is a professional petitioning company.