1. Incorrect. He was planning on starting his petitioning AFTER the original primary date of May 12 as a contingency candidate if Republican Mike Folk had lost (which he eventually did). The primary was moved back a month due to the ‘Rona, so he did not begin petitioning until the middle of June. If he argues on those grounds, he will lose. In West Virginia, independent petitioning can begin the day after the previous election; in this case, November 9, 2016. However, if he argues that he wanted to begin petitioning when he announced his contingency candidacy in January and that the governor’s lockdown orders made it impossible for him to interact with enough voters to collect the requisite signatures, then THAT might be a winning case. However, a similar argument was shot down in Pennsylvania and probably some other states as well. Regardless, he is already busy with a strong write-in campaign and grassroots network all across the state.

2. thank you, Jeff. I reworded my post.

3. Richard, I am writing a book all about the 14th Amendment. What case law from the Supreme Court will Mr. Wilson likely be relying upon? That is, what have been the milestone rulings by the Supreme Court regarding ballot access for candidates? (I assume that this topic has been decided under the Equal Protection Clause.)

4. Mark, it’s the First Amendment, which protects voting rights. Every state must have a realistic means for a new party, or a previously unqualified party, or an independent, to get on the ballot. These ballot access cases that relate to the health crisis argue that the normal procedure wasn’t realistic this year.

5. Legis power in legis bodies — NOT HACK tyrant lawless execs/judics.

6. Legislative bodies don’t always meet in time to address emergencies. That’s one of the legitimate functions of the courts.

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