Fifth Circuit Decision on Texas Straight-Ticket Device

Posted on by March 17, 2022
16

In 2018, the Texas legislature passed a bill eliminating the straight-ticket device, effective with the 2020 election. In 2020, some Texas voters and groups filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that repeal of the straight-ticket device violated the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act. A U.S. District Court ordered the state to restore the device for the 2020 election, but the Fifth Circuit stayed that order.

On March 16, the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion in the same case, Texas Alliance for Retired Americans v Scott, 20-40643. The opinion uses a technicality to end the lawsuit without ruling on the merits. The Fifth Circuit said the original Complaint is fatally defective because the plaintiffs sued the Secretary of State, but that they instead should have sued county election officials. The vote was 2-1.

Also on March 16, the same panel of Fifth Circuit judges rejected two more election lawsuits on the same grounds, that the plaintiffs should have sued county election officials instead of the Secretary of state. The other two cases are Richardson v Flores, 20-50774; and Lewis v Scott, 20-50654. Richardson deals with procedures for verifying signatures on postal ballots. Lewis v Scott deals with several provisions concerning postal ballots, including the voter’s need to pay return postage.

The two judges in the majority are Don Willett and Kyle Duncan, both Trump appointees. The dissenting judge is Patrick Higginbotham, a Reagan appointee. The majority’s conclusion that the Secretary of State is not the proper defendant in a constitutional election law case is very much contrary to over fifty years of precedent from around the nation (in states in which the Secretary of State is in charge of elections; in some states the State Board of Elections runs elections).

Green Party Sues Indiana Over Ballot Access

Posted on by March 17, 2022
2

On March 17, the Indiana Green Party filed a federal lawsuit against Indiana’s ballot access laws. Indiana Green Party v Sullivan, s.d., 1:22cv-518. The Indiana petition for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties, 2% of the last vote cast for Secretary of State, currently requires 44,935 signatures for statewide office. It has not been used for statewide office in over twenty years.

Indiana is one of only four states in which Ralph Nader, who placed third in 2000, 2004, and 2008, never got on the ballot. The other three states in which he never got on the ballot, Georgia, North Carolina, and Oklahoma, have all eased presidential ballot access since Nader last ran.

Indiana requires more signatures, as a percentage of the presidential vote, than any other state, for president, when the easier method in each state is compared. It also has one of the earliest petition deadlines for president of any state, when the later method is compared.

The Libertarian Party is a co-plaintiff, even though it has been on the ballot continuously since 1994. It is in the lawsuit because it could theoretically fail to poll 2% of the vote for its nominee for Secretary of State in the future, and if it did, it would also be subject to the petition in order to get back on.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge James R. Sweeney, a Trump appointee.

Nebraska Primary Filing Closes

Posted on by March 17, 2022
4

On March 15, filing for Nebraska primaries closed. The Legal Marijuana Now Party needs to poll 5% in November 2022 to remain ballot-qualified. Fortunately for the party, no Democrat filed to run for Attorney General or Auditor. The Legal Marijuana Now Party does have candidates for those offices, and they are certain to meet the vote test, with no Democrat running.

The Libertarian Party doesn’t need to worry about the vote test, because it meets the registration threshold. Here is a link to the list of primary candidates. The only minor party candidate for U.S. House is a Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate. Nebraska has no U.S. Senate election in 2022. Thanks to Mark Elworth, Jr., for this news.

Tennessee Ballot Access Bill Loses by Two Votes in House

Posted on by March 17, 2022
Reply

On March 17, the Tennessee House defeated HB 2067 by two votes. It would have eased the definition of a qualified party. The bill received 47 “yes” votes and 35 “no” votes. However, because there are currently 97 representatives, the bill needed a majority of the membership, which would have been 49 votes. Fifteen representatives did not vote, and not voting had the same effect as voting “no.”

Democrats cast 15 votes in favor, 5 opposed, and 5 didn’t vote.

Republicans cast 32 votes in favor, 30 opposed, and 10 didn’t vote. The Speaker, Cameron Sexton, voted “no.”

The bill would have reduced the petition from 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote, to one-half of 1%. It would also have eased the vote test for party retention from 5% to 1%.
Here is the roll-call. Click on the “votes” button at the top on the right.

An identical bill, SB 2189, is still alive in the State Senate. It has a committee hearing on March 22.