Pennsylvania Representative Russ Diamond (R-Lebanon) will soon introduce a bill to move the 2022 primary from May to August 2. Here is the text. If the bill passed, it would have no effect on the filing deadline for minor party and independent candidates, whose petitions are due August 1.
On November 1, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Libertarian Party of Ohio v Crites, 21-226. This is the case over the composition of the Ohio Election Commission. Ohio law says the members of the Commission must be three members of the two largest parties (as measured by which two parties have the most seats in the legislature), and a member chosen by the other six who is not a member of any party. Thus a minor party member may never serve.
The Court’s action continues a 30-year unbroken refusal by the court to accept any cert petition filed by a minor party or independent candidate, unless the two major parties were also in the case on the same side as the minor party. Yet during that 30-year period the court accepted six cert petitions filed when the minor party or independent candidate had won in the court below, and the state sought Supreme Court review. They include cases on ballot access, fusion, party freedom to decide for itself to let independents vote in its primaries, debates, and exclusion of independent and minor party candidates from serving as a state court judge.
Here is a short Associated Press article on the refusal.
The Ninth Circuit will hear Mecinas v Hobbs, 20-16301, on Friday, January 14, 2022, in Pasadena, California. This is the Democratic Party’s lawsuit that challenges the Arizona law on order of candidates on the ballot. The law says the nominees of the party that polled the highest vote for Governor (in that county) will appear first on the ballot. The Republican Party enjoyed the top spot on the November 2020 ballot in all counties except Apache, Coconino, Pima, and Santa Cruz Counties.
This is the only one of the six Democratic Party lawsuits on ballot order that is still alive. The Democratic Party lost the other five cases.
Ballot Access News
October 2021 – Volume 37, Number 5
| This issue was printed on white paper. |
Table of Contents
On the evening of October 27, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis finally set special election dates for three vacant legislative seats. The special primaries will be January 11 and the special elections will be March 8.
The 2022 session of the legislature runs from January 11 through March 11, so the new legislators will not actually serve in the 2022 session of the legislature.
The three seats had been vacant for 87 days. The Governor acted twelve days after some voters sued him over the delay. See this story. All three seats are strongly Democratic.
