On August 24, the California Secretary of State filed this brief in Beaber v Weber, c.d., 2:21cv-6558. This is the federal lawsuit that argues the U.S. Constitution requires that Governor Gavin Newsom should be able to be listed on the second half of the recall ballot, as a candidate to succeed himself in the event a majority votes to recall him.
The brief points out that this system has been in the law since 1911. Also it criticizes the plaintiffs for not having filed the lawsuit sooner.
On August 25, Markham Robinson, acting chair of the American Independent Party, died of an illness. He had been in the leadership of the party ever since 2008. He lived in Vacaville, California.
On August 25, the New York Libertarian Party asked new Governor Kathy Hochul to support changing the definition of a qualified political party back to what it was before 2020. Here is the press release.
This story says that Cincinnati State Technical and Community College recently paid $75,000 to three initiative petitioners, to settle a lawsuit filed by the petitioners. The petitioners were arrested for petitioning without permission. Cincinnati State Technical and Community College is a public institution. Thanks to the Institute for Free Speech for the link.
On August 27, the Erie County, New York Board of Elections will consider whether to put independent candidate Byron Brown on the ballot as a candidate for Mayor. This news story says one of the Board of Elections Commissioners, Jeremy Zellner, wants to hear from the county attorney and counsel to the Board of Elections before commenting on what the board will do. This suggests that at least one commissioner is open to the argument that the May petition deadline is unconstitutional. The New York independent candidate petition deadline was always in August, September, or October, until 2019, when the legislature moved it to May.
