On September 15, the CATO Institute filed this amicus curiae brief in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Crites, 21-226. This is the lawsuit over the composition of the Ohio Elections Commission, which, by law, consists of three Republicans, three Democrats, and one person who is not a member of any party.
All 50 Democratic (including the two Independents who work with the Democrats) Senators support S2747, introduced on September 14. It is the “Freedom to Vote” Act. Here is a link to the text.
The bill eliminates public funding for presidential candidates in primary season, one of the few federal government programs that helps minor parties.
On September 13, the California legislature sent two election law bills to Governor Gavin Newsom. AB 446 somewhat eases the procedure for a group to become a qualified party. SB 660 makes it illegal for initiative proponents to pay circulators on a per-signature basis. Governors of California have twelve days to act on bills, after they receive them, not counting Sundays.
On September 17, the Secretary of State of Georgia filed a notice of appeal in Cowen v Raffensperger, the case over petition requirements for candidates for U.S. House who are not nominees of parties that got 20% of the vote in the last election for the office at the top of the ballot. The U.S. District Court had ruled the 5% petition unconstitutional, given that it has existed since 1943 and has never been used by a minor party candidate, and has not been used by an independent candidate since 1964.
See this news story, which has Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown’s comment on yesterday’s court rulings at the bottom, and which also re-affirms that his write-in candidacy is continuing. Thanks to Joe Burns for the link.
