On January 10, the Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County filed this 19-page brief in the party’s lawsuit against a California law that says no one may circulate a petition in lieu of filing fee outside of his or her own county and also may not circulate outside of his or her own district. The case is pending in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

The brief emphasizes that even though the Secretary of State’s attorneys say the residency requirement is not enforced, the Secretary of State’s web page implies that it is. Each time another special election is called (and two have been called in the last few weeks), the Secretary of State’s web page for that particular upcoming special election restates the relevant election laws, and always includes the residency requirement for circulators. At the same time these web page entries also mention the one-year duration of residency requirement for candidates. But these web page entries always say in a footnote that the residency requirement for candidates is not enforced. Because there is no footnote saying the residency requirement for circulators is not enforced, a reasonable person would assume that the requirement for circulators (as opposed to requirement for candidates) is enforced.