Late on Friday, August 27, Virginia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe filed a brief in Republican Party of Virginia v Piper, in state trial court in Richmond. It argues there is no legal requirement for the declaration of candidacy to be signed. See this story.
The Coalition for Free & Open Elections held its annual board meeting on Sunday, August 22, via zoom. The minutes of the meeting will be posted by the end of the day, Sunday, August 29, at COFOE.org. The Coalition for Free & Open Elections is a loose coalition of most of the nation’s nationally-organized minor parties, plus some organizations that are allies in the fight for better election laws for voters who want to vote for minor parties. COFOE was founded in 1985.
This article by Evita Duffy, about the Virginia Republican lawsuit to keep Democratic gubernatorial nominee Terry McAuliffe off the November 2021 ballot, has a picture of the declaration of candidacy form that McAuliffe did not sign. It also shows that two witnesses signed the form, attesting that they observed his signature.
On August 27, U.S. District Court Judge Michael W. Fitzgerald, an Obama appointee, ruled that the California recall rules do not violate the U.S. Constitution. Here is the 13-page opinion. The plaintiffs, who argue that the recall should give the recalled office-holder a chance to appear on the second half of the ballot as a candidate, violates the Constitution, immediately filed a notice of appeal to the Ninth Circuit.
On August 27, the Erie County Board of Elections rejected Mayor Byron Brown’s independent candidate petition, because it was filed after the May deadline. See this story. It is expected that the Mayor will now file a federal lawsuit, alleging that the May petition deadline is unconstitutional. The primary was in late June. Caselaw is unanimous that independent candidate petition deadlines can’t be substantially earlier than the primary date.
