On October 1, the North Carolina State Board of Elections filed this brief in Kopitke v Bell. That is the lawsuit filed by an independent presidential candidate, Kyle Kopitke, and an independent U.S. House candidate, Greg Buscemi. The North Carolina independent candidate petition is due March 3, 2020, which is clearly unconstitutional as applied to independent presidential candidates under the U.S. Supreme Court decision Anderson v Celebrezze.
The state’s brief is lengthy, but nowhere mentions that glaring flaw in the law. The lawsuit also challenges the statewide independent law because it requires approximately six times as many signatures for an independent as for a new party. That violates a U.S. District Court decision from North Carolina, DeLaney v Bartlett. The state’s brief says DeLaney v Bartlett is no longer good law.
The lawsuit also challenges the law that requires declared write-in candidates to file a petition of 500 signatures (for statewide office). The state says that law is “de minimus” and need not be defended because it is so easy. In practice, though, it is not easy, and many significant presidential candidates tried and failed to meet it, including Ralph Nader in 2000, Jill Stein in 2012, and Evan McMullin in 2016. The basis for the challenge is that there is no state interest in requiring a petition for a write-in candidate, because a write-in candidate’s name does not contribute to a cluttered ballot.
Yet another chance to detect EQUAL in 14-1.
EQUAL ballot access test to get INDIVIDUAL candidate names on ballots —
Voter Nom Pets / Fee
Too many MORON lawyers and worse judges to count since 1968 Williams v Rhodes — mere 51 years and counting.
https://ballot-access.org/2019/08/30/north-carolina-lawsuit-filed-to-challenge-petition-requirements-for-independent-candidates/
first BAN story on case — seems like decades ago.
More ballot access cases than EVER in 1 year ???
ONLY the BAN database can keep up-to-date ???
14-2 violation if write-ins NOT counted.
How many write-in votes in 1866-1868 ??? —
esp after many incumbents quit / got killed off in 1861-1866 Civil WAR I.
I don’t know. How many?
WIs — Likely lost in the post-war wreckage of the horrific Civil War I —
unless CL spends some major time looking up any surviving records.
In other Civil War regimes – mass hangings of rebels – permanent regime takeovers.
USA – multi-thousands of widows and orphans, oceans of tears for dead / maimed for life injured [NO eyes, hands, etc], 13-14-15 Amdts, paper money, inflations / depressions, war debts / taxes, limited time regime takeovers in Reconstruction Era, ex-slaves left to rot after 1877.
ANY 1861 slave oligarch starve to death in 1865-1877 ??? NOT likely.
None. That was before government printed ballots.
Good answer, Ed!
EN-
How many write-ins on those olde *private* ballots ???
IE if the voter did not like the party hack for an office on the private / party ballot.
Multiple olde private ballots ??? — due to multiple layers of offices-
Fed-State-Local.
Much better handwriting in olde days for WI votes ???
Now – bare min baaaade handwriting – for sigs – govt forms , checks, credit cards ???
See circa 2010 AK USA Senate Murkowski WI win vote –
zillion different spellings – *intent* stuff off scale.
When did even *private* ballots get printed ???
How did many early voters even know who were *declared* candidates ???
— esp before 1840s telegraphs or even printing presses in early / new territories / States ???
Dubious word of mouth / postal snail mail ???