On June 24, U.S. District Court Judge James L. Graham, a Reagan appointee, rejected ballot access relief for independent candidates in Ohio. Hawkins v DeWine, s.d., 2:20cv-2781. The 12-page order says that because Ohio had exempted “First Amendment Activity” from its lockdown order, there is no basis for relief. The opinion says, “The State’s COVID-19 orders imposed no significant burden on plaintiffs’ signature-gathering rights.”
Howie Hawkins has appealed to the Sixth Circuit. The case number is 20-3717. Ohio requires 5,000 signatures for statewide independent petitions. The presidential petition is due August 5. The only ballot-qualified parties in Ohio are Democratic, Republican, and Libertarian.
Another bad court decision.
I’d think the Hawkins campaign and the greens are organized enough to get the signatures in Ohio. Especially if they’ve started. Hopefully they can still find a way to get on