Fourth Circuit Keeps Case on Whether Virginia Should Hold New State Legislative Elections Alive

Posted on by March 18, 2022
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On March 15, the Fourth Circuit issued this short order in Goldman v Brink, 21-2180. This is the case on whether Virginia must cut short the terms of members of the lower house of the legislature to just one year. Virginia elects its state officers in odd years, and in November 2021 elected members of the lower house using the 2010 census redistricting, not the 2020 census. A voter sued, arguing that it would violate “one person, one vote” to use those districts until the November 2023 election. The plaintiff wants elections for that office this year.

The lawsuit was in a 3-judge U.S. District Court, but the state appealed to the Fourth Circuit before it was even decided, hoping the Fourth Circuit would rule that the plaintiff lacks standing. But the Fourth Circuit said the 3-judge district court can do that all by itself, and returned the case to that court.

New Hampshire House Defeats Bill to Use Ranked Choice Voting in Primaries and for Local Office

Posted on by March 18, 2022
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On March 16, the New Hampshire House defeated HB 1264 by 116-219. It would have allowed parties to decide for themselves whether to use ranked choice voting in their own primaries. It would also have let local governments use ranked choice voting for their own elections.

Democrats supported the measure 103-53, but Republicans opposed it 11-166. Thanks to Fairvote for this news. Here is the roll-call. To see how each member voted, click on the link on the left that says, “Remove from Table.”

New Jersey Democratic Party Asks National Democratic Party to Allow New Jersey to Hold First Presidential Primary

Posted on by March 17, 2022
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The chair of the New Jersey Democratic Party has asked the Democratic National Committee to bless the idea that New Jersey should have the first presidential primary. See this story. Democrats hold majorities in both houses of the New Jersey legislature and New Jersey has a Democratic governor, so if the national Democratic Party supports making New Jersey first, then it should be possible for a bill moving the New Jersey presidential primary to February or January to pass. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.

New Jersey has been one of the last states to hold presidential primaries. Starting in 1968, the New Jersey presidential primaries have always been in June.

Fifth Circuit Decision on Texas Straight-Ticket Device

Posted on by March 17, 2022
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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
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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.