On January 5, 2022, the Eleventh Circuit reversed the U.S. District Court and found that Georgia’s 5% petition (of the number of registered voters) for independent candidates, and the nominees of parties that didn’t poll 20% of the vote in the last election for president or governor, is constitutional. Here is the 17-page opinion.
The decision says the requirement is not “severe”, even though the evidence in the case shows that no one has successfully overcome that requirement since 1964, when the deadline was in October and the signatures were not checked and didn’t need to be notarized, and district boundaries did not split counties. The evidence also shows that in the 21st century alone, twenty attempts have been made, all of which failed.
The decision does not explain why the requirement is not severe, other than to say that in 2020, a candidate for judicial office met the requirement. But he was running in a judicial district that has far fewer voters than a U.S. House district, and his district was comprised of five counties, so the boundary of the district did not cross county lines. Also he only needed 3,526 signatures. U.S. House petitions are approximately 25,000. The Georgia Secretary of State still has not calculated the precise requirement for 2022 in any district.
If Georgia’s law is constitutional, then a similar law in all states would be constitutional. And if every state had a law like Georgia’s, there would have been an absolute monopoly of Democratic and Republican candidates on the ballot for U.S. House in the entire nation for almost 60 years.
The decision is by Judge Britt Grant, a Trump appointee who was formerly Georgia’s Solicitor General. It is also signed by Judge William Pryor, a Bush Jr. appointee, and Frank Hull, a Clinton appointee. UPDATE: here is a Courthouse News Service story.
ONE MORE DISASTER opin —
due to the same olde losing arguments
by the same olde losing so-called lawyers
since 1968 Williams v Rhodes.
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EQUAL ballot access – EQUAL still in 14-1 AMDT EP Cl.
PR
APPV
TOTSOP
TOTAL disgrace and DIS-honor upon the 11th Cir HACK so-called ***judges*** —
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2022/01/05/governor-pardons-plessy-separate-but-equal-ruling/9104969002/
Governor pardons Plessy, of ‘separate but equal’ ruling
Janet Mcconnaughey | Associated Press
New Orleans – Louisiana’s governor on Wednesday posthumously pardoned Homer Plessy, the Black man whose arrest for refusing to leave a whites-only railroad car in 1892 to protest racial segregation sparked the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cemented “separate but equal” into law for half a century.
I still think we ought to be trying to let the international community know about the realities of ballot access and elections in this country. Maybe at that point, some more civilized and freer countries might make it easier for minor party supporters to claim asylum or refugee status if this trend of depriving us of equal rights continues and worsens here.
Unfortunately, I told you so. More and more, I hate being right.
OUCH!!!
FOR ANY NEWBEES —
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation
USA – IN STONE AGE – GERRYMANDERS / EXEC-JUDIC PARTY HACKS / SOP VIOLATIONS
“If Georgia’s law is constitutional, then a similar law in all states would be constitutional. And if every state had a law like Georgia’s, there would have been an absolute monopoly of Democratic and Republican candidates on the ballot for U.S. House in the entire nation for almost 60 years.”
That seems to be the intent of both major parties right now.
And, to add insult to injury, gerrymandered, single member districts mean that most Congressional districts are decided before a single vote is cast. In each passing year, fewer and fewer districts are competitive. Some day, we may reach the point where every district is gerrymandered in favor or one party, or another, and the outcome of every seat known ahead of time.
WZ –
only *competitive* gerrymander seats = in primaries with NOOO incumbents >>> more extremists later elected.
See 1860 gerrymander elections – N/E/W/S >>> 750,000 DEAD in 1861-1866.
Imagine knowing someone worked for years on something — a civil rights case, say — and then criticizing them from the sidelines when they don’t win, because you don’t understand how civil rights cases work. You just think you do. And that’s how you spend your time. Imagine being that person. Or don’t, because it does no good for anyone.
Is there anything that can be done at this point? This seems like something that warrants at least a rehearing, If not an full-on appeal.
The obvious next step is to ask the US Supreme Court to review the decision. There is a circuit split. The Sixth Circuit struck down Michigan’s statewide independent requirement, 30,000 signatures, which was less than 1% of the last gubernatorial vote in Michigan. The Eighth Circuit struck down North Dakota’s party petition, which was 15,000 signatures, and that was 3.3% of the eligible signers at the time.
Maybe rehearing en banc? Biden just confirmed that voting rights specialist to the 11th Circuit (hat tip RW). Is this the same panel that reversed last time? If not, there may be sympathetic judges who don’t like what this panel did.
Nancy Abudu hasn’t been confirmed yet by the US Senate for a seat on the 11th circuit.
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/redistricting-litigation-roundup-0
2020 Census – Gerrymander cases – many States
1/2 x 1/2 = 1/4 — much too difficult for math MORON lawyers and worse ***judges***.
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PR >>> more 14-1 Amdt EQUAL votes.
What argument in SCOTUS will get ALL of the junk UNEQUAL ballot access cases since 1968 OVER-RULED ???
See 1954 Brown v Bd of Ed — over-ruling the racist junk since 1896 Plessy [above].
Have esteemed Georgians such as Cynthia McKinney, Newt Gingrich, Jimmy Carter, Julian Bond, Richard Russell, John Lewis, Lester Maddox, or Marjorie Taylor Greene ever weighec in on the issue?
JR –
How many of the GA folks [ ie ALL political monarchs/oligarchs in the USA since 1776/1789] got POWER due to unequal ballot access laws and anti-Democracy minority rule gerrymanders ???
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EQUAL BALLOT ACCESS
PR LEGIS
APPV – NONPARTISAN EXECS/JUDICS
TOTSOP
Duh…am I the only one to see that the SYSTEM wants to eliminate all third political parties off the ballot if possible. Is it because they can win? Not really! But they can tip the vote.
“Duh…am I the only one to see that the SYSTEM wants to eliminate all third political parties off the ballot if possible. Is it because they can win? Not really! But they can tip the vote”
No, you are hardly the only one. That’s why we need some alternative voting method like ranked choice or approval voting. Duverger’s Law describes the tendency of plurality voting in single member districts to eliminate all but two parties.
I’m not criticizing you for not winning. I made a prediction, and unfortunately I was right. Perhaps you missed the part where I hate being right. I really do. The supreme court is extremely unlikely to intervene, given over 30 years of history. My working thesis is that incremental progress on ballot access, which while uneven, was overall positive in the last several decades, will now more overall in a negative direction. This is because the bigger issue is increasing negative partisanship from both of the largest parties, and in a climate so polluted with increasing mutual fear and hate by two sides, neutral parties become collateral damage.
That’s not how I want it to be, but I don’t see anything stopping it. The die has been cast, and I’m just the messenger. I don’t like it either, so don’t blame me.
Lester Maddox was a great man.