On September 2, the Georgia Libertarian Party filed this brief in Cowen v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:17cv-4660. The purpose of the brief is to react to the judge’s tentative suggestion for ballot access for U.S. House in 2022, pending legislative action. The party objects to the judge’s idea that its U.S. House candidates must submit petitions equal to 1% of the number of registered voters, plus pay the $5,200 filing fee.
On September 2, the Georgia Secretary of State filed a brief in Cowen v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:17cv-4660. The purpose of the brief is to react to the U.S. District Court’s tentative decision to require petitions of 1% of the number of registered voters, plus a filing fee of approximately $5,200, for U.S. House candidates who are not nominees of a party that polled 20% of the vote in the last election.
The state’s brief says the judge has no authority to reduce the requirements for legislative candidates, or candidates for partisan county office, because the original Complaint only challenged the U.S. House requirements. The state also objects to lowering the petition to 1%, but it doesn’t suggest what the state thinks the interim relief should be.
The state submits a list of precedents from other states that upheld petition requirements of 3% or 5% of the last vote cast, but the list contains errors. It says the First Circuit upheld New Hampshire’s 3% (of the last gubernatorial vote) petition in Libertarian Party of New Hampshire v Gardner. That is not true; that decision upheld the requirement of 3,000 signatures for statewide candidates and 1,500 signatures for U.S. House candidates.
The state says that the Tenth Circuit upheld Oklahoma’s 5% petition in Rainbow Coalition of Oklahoma v Oklahoma State Election Board, but in that case, a minor party or independent candidate could run for U.S. House (or any partisan office other than president) with no petition at all. The 5% petition was only required to put the party label on the ballot. The state says that Fifth Circuit upheld Louisiana’s “5% signature requirement” in Dart v Brown, but Louisiana let any candidate on the ballot for U.S. House, or any office, with just a filing fee; the decision only related to whether the candidate could have a party label. Also Louisiana’s law did not involve a petition, but a registration test.
On September 2, the Erie County Board of Elections filed a brief in Meadors v Erie County Board of Elections, w.d., 1:21cv-982. This is the case in which Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown challenged the independent candidate petition deadline. That deadline had always been in August, September, or October, until in 2019 it was moved to May.
The brief mostly relies on procedural issues. It says the voters who filed the lawsuit don’t have standing. It says the lawsuit was filed too late. It says the plaintiffs should have sued the individual members of the County Elections Board, instead of the Board itself. On the merits, it attacks Mayor Brown for being a “sore loser.” However, in Anderson v Celebrezze, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Ohio March petition on behalf of independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson, and Anderson himself was a “sore loser”. Anderson had his name on the Republican presidential primary ballots in twenty states, and didn’t win a single primary.
On September 1, two Texas Democratic State Senators filed a federal lawsuit to prevent the special session of the Texas legislature from drawing new U.S. House and legislative districts. The Complaint alleges that the Texas Constitution does not permit redistricting in special sessions. And Texas won’t have a regular legislative session until 2023. Eckhardt v Abbott, w.d. 1:21cv-769. The case requires a 3-judge court, and the judges have already been selected. Thanks to Political Wire for this news.
On September 1, Montana officials filed this brief in the Ninth Circuit in Pierce v Jacobsen, 21-35173. This is the case that challenges Montana’s ban on out-of-state circulators for initiatives.
