On January 10, New York Assemblymember John Salka introduced A8683. It reduces the number of signatures for statewide independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, from 45,000 to 15,000. It also cuts the number of votes for a party to be recognized from 2%, to 50,000. Thanks to Howie Hawkins for this news.
The Maine Beacon has this op-ed, criticizing the Maine Secretary of State for refusing to extend the same relief to the Green Party that a federal court already extended to the Libertarian Party. Thanks to Fairvote for the link. The op-ed is by Sam Pfeifle.
A Missouri initiative to establish a top-four system is circulating. This St. Louis Post-Dispatch article says over $1,000,000 has been contributed by a Virginia group that refuses to disclose its donors.
The Missouri initiative makes it far more difficult for parties to attain or keep qualified status. Currently a party in Missouri is a group that polled at least 2% for any statewide race in either of the last two elections. The initiative changes this, so a party could only remain ballot-qualified if it polled 2% for president. Thanks to Fairvote for the link.
On January 10, a group of North Carolina voters asked the State Board of Elections to rule that Congressman Madison Cawthorn is ineligible to hold congressional office. The voters charge that Cawthorn is ineligible under the Fourteenth Amendment, section 3, which says, “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress…who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress…to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”
Here is the legal filing. The specifics about Cawthorn, in relation to the events of January 6, 2021, start on page 14.
Law Professor Derek Muller here expresses the point that because Article One says Congress shall be the judge of its own elections, therefore states perhaps do not have authority to decide for themselves which candidates are eligible, and cannot use qualifications to keep them off the ballot.
On January 10, some New York city Republican officials filed a lawsuit in state court, alleging that the new law allowing non-citizen residents to vote for city office violates the State Constitution. See this story. Thanks to Political Wire for the link.
