May 2022 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Posted on by May 30, 2022
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Ballot Access News
May 2022 – Volume 37, Number 12

This issue was printed on tan paper.

Table of Contents

  1. IOWA MARCH PETITION DEADLINE STRUCK DOWN
  2. NEW HOPE FOR GEORGIA BALLOT ACCESS LAWSUIT
  3. BALLOT ACCESS BILLS
  4. ILLINOIS BALLOT ACCESS LOSS
  5. RANKED CHOICE VOTING BILLS
  6. LEGISLATIVE NEWS
  7. MONTANA GREEN PARTY ON BALLOT
  8. PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES
  9. U.S. SUPREME COURT WON’T HEAR ALABAMA CASE ON VOTER LIST
  10. NEW YORK SUED OVER OUT-OF-STATE PETITIONER BAN
  11. DEMOCRATS WIN AGAINST ARIZONA ON BALLOT ORDER
  12. DECISIONS STRIKING DOWN COUNTY DISTRIBUTION PETITION REQUIREMENTS
  13. DECISIONS EASING PETITIONS WHEN NORMAL PERIOD IS NOT AVAILABLE
  14. 2022 PETITIONING FOR STATEWIDE OFFICE
  15. ALASKA SPECIAL ELECTION WILL TEST NEW TOP-FOUR SYSTEM
  16. OREGON INDEPENDENT GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE HAS BIGGEST WARCHEST
  17. PENNSYLVANIA SPECIAL ELECTION
  18. NO DEMOCRAT IS RUNNING FOR U.S. HOUSE FROM SOUTH DAKOTA
  19. UTAH DEMOCRATS WON’T RUN ANYONE FOR U.S. SENATE
  20. NEW YORK DEMOCRATS DECIDE NOT TO SET UP A NEW PARTY
  21. POLL SHOWS SUPPORT FOR A CENTRIST INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
  22. SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL

Pennsylvania 2021 Candidate Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Immediately Reverse Third Circuit on Ballots that Lack a Date Entered by the Voter

Posted on by May 28, 2022
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On May 27, the Pennsylvania candidate from 2021 who believes he will be injured if postal ballots in which the voter forgot to add the date next to his or her signature on the outer envelope asked the U.S. Supreme Court to quickly rule that such votes cannot be counted. Here is the application in Ritter v Migliori. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link. The case is 21A772. Justice Sam Alito has asked the other side to respond by Tuesday, May 31.

Independent Candidate Qualifies for Governor of Maine

Posted on by May 28, 2022
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According to this story, independent candidate Sam Hunkler has qualified to be on the November 2022 ballot for Governor of Maine.

Given that fact, and other recent developments, such as the success of the Alabama general election petition for the Libertarian Party, and the Arizona primary ballot access success of Libertarian Marc Victor, it is possible that New York will be the only state in the nation with no opponent on the ballot to all the statewide Democratic and Republican nominees in 2022. It is still too early to tell about Kentucky (where the petition deadline is in August) and North Dakota (where the independent candidate petition deadline is in September).

Also, the above statement doesn’t apply to the states in which parties don’t have nominees and which limit the number of candidates who can appear on the general election ballot to just two (California and Washington) or four (Alaska).

Third Circuit Reaffirms its Earlier Action that Postal Ballots in Pennsylvania Are Valid Even if the Voter Forgets to Fill in the Date on the Outer Envelope

Posted on by May 27, 2022
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On May 27, the Third Circuit released another order in Migliori v Lehigh County Board of Elections. This order confirms that the “materiality” part of the federal Voting Rights Act bars Pennsylvania from invalidating postal ballots just because the voter forgot to fill out the date on the outer envelope. The decision notes that all postal ballots are date-stamped when they are received in the elections office. Also the decision notes that there is no law that says a voter’s date must be accurate. So, the conclusion is that ballots should count because the information on the date line is immaterial to determining if the ballot is valid. Here is the decision. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.