On April 14, the North Carolina voters who are challenging the ballot position of Congressman Madison Cawthorn filed this brief in Cawthorn v Amalfi, 22-1251, Fourth Circuit. They argue that the U.S. District Court was wrong to conclude that when Congress passed an amnesty bill for ex-Confederates, that amnesty extended indefinitely into the future and covered everyone who might have engaged in insurrection.

They also argue that the U.S. District Court was wrong when it refused to let these voter-intervenors into the case. The challengers are the only appellants in the Fourth Circuit, because the State Board of Elections did not appeal.

Cawthorn is safely on the May primary ballot, so if the challengers win in the Fourth Circuit, and Cawthorn has been defeated in the primary, the case will be moot. If Cawthorn wins his primary, or qualifies for a run-off primary, the case will proceed.

On April 15, the Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Schmett v State Objections Panel, 22-0618. It says that Abby Finkenauer should be on the June 2022 Democratic primary ballot as a candidate for U.S. Senate. Here is the opinion, which involves interpretation of the statute. A lower state court had kept her off the ballot because she was three signatures short in one county, because the signer (who was a registered voter) didn’t add the date next to his or her signature.

Finkenauer is a former member of the U.S. House, and is considered the leading candidate for U.S. Senate in this year’s Democratic primary.

Finally, a general news story has mentioned the April 8 decision of a U.S. District Court in Iowa that struck down the March petition deadline for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties. Bleeding Heartland has the story.