Two Trials in Missouri This Week on Whether Initiative Petitions That Have Enough Signatures Will Appear on the November 3 Ballot

Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins appears to be blocking initiatives that he opposes. One initiative would limit legislative changes to initiatives that were passed by Missouri voters and the other would affect congressional map redistricting.

Here is the story from Missouri Independent.

David Jolly, Former Leader of SAM Party and Former Member of Forward Party, Wins the Florida Democratic Party Gubernatorial Nomination

On August 18, Florida held primaries.  David Jolly won the Democratic nomination for Governor.  He had been a Republican congressman in 2014-2017.  He had then left Congress, left the Republican Party, and in 2021 became head of the SAM Party (“SAM” stands for Serve America Movement).  Then in 2022, after the Forward Party formed, he became a member of the Forward Party.  He joined the Democratic Party in April 2025.

Fourth Circuit Says 26th Amendment Prevents South Carolina from Giving Favorable Treatment to Voters Aged 65 and Above

On August 18, the Fourth Circuit struck down South Carolina’s law that says all voters age 65 and above may vote early, but younger voters may not vote early unless they won’t be near their home on election day.  Grant v Belangia, 25-1413.  Here is the decision.

The state is now free to either extend early voting with no excuse to all voters, or to prohibit it for all voters.

The decision depends on the 26th Amendment, which outlaws discrimination by age for the voting process, except of course it doesn’t apply to people under age 18.

This is the first time the 26th amendment has been used to strike down a law, since the early 1970’s.