All Sixteen Full-Time Judges of the Sixth Circuit Hear Case on How Much Money Parties Can Spend on their Own Nominees

Posted on by June 15, 2024
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on Wednesday, June 12, all sixteen full-time judges of the Sixth Circuit heard arguments in National Republican Senatorial Committee v Federal Election Commission, 24-3051.  The issue is the McCain-Feingold law that limits how much money parties can spend on their own nominees, in federal elections.  The U.S. Supreme Court had upheld that law in the past, as applied to Instances when the parties directly coordinate with their own nominees.   But the vote was 5-4.  The Republican Party’s Senatorial campaign committee filed a new lawsuit in 2022, hoping that eventually the case will reach the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court will modify or reverse its earlier ruling.

The case was before all full-time judges of the Sixth Circuit, because the case was filed in Ohio and the McCain-Feingold law says challenges to the law will be heard first in a court of appeals, with all judges participating.  These en banc hearings are rare, because they require so much judicial time and effort.

Here is a story about the hearing.

U.S. Supreme Court Opinion in Abortion Pill Case Will Make it More Difficult for Democratic Party to Challenge Minor Party and Independent Candidate Ballot Access in Federal Court

Posted on by June 15, 2024
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On June 13, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Food & Drug Administration v Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, 23-235.  Here is the opinion.  It says that plaintiffs do not have standing to challenge an FDA decision to expand access to certain medications involving abortion.

Although this is not an election law case, it will affect election law, as Professor Derek Muller noted at electionlawblog.  The decision says that just because a group must spend money if some administrative decision is not reversed, that doesn’t mean the challenger to the administration decision has standing.  In Nevada, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., is suing in federal court over the state’s determination that vice-presidential candidates must be listed on the independent presidential petition.  A Democratic Party-allied interest group is trying to intervene in the case against Kennedy, on the grounds that if Kennedy gets on the ballot, the interest group will need to spend more money campaigning for President Joe Biden.

But the U.S. Supreme Court said in FDA v AHM, “The medical associations respond that under Hevens Realty Corp. v Coleman, standing exists when an organization diverts its resources in response to a defendant’s actions. That is incorrect.  Indeed, that theory would mean that all the organizations in America would have standing to challenge almost every federal policy that they dislike, provided they spend a single dollar opposing those policies.  Havens does not support such an expansive theory of standing.

Democratic Party groups this year alone have taken legal action to injure the ballot access of various minor party and independent candidates in Arizona, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, and perhaps some other states.

“Presumptive Nominee” Criterion Used to Include Biden and Trump in CNN June 27 Debate? The FEC Says There is No Such Thing.

Posted on by June 13, 2024
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The Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Campaign filed a Complaint with the Federal Election Commission stating that this criterion that would be used to include Joe Biden and Donald Trump in a Thursday, June 27 debate that might exclude RFK, Jr. could not legally be employed without triggering illegal corporate contributions to the Biden and Trump Campaigns. It appears that the FEC agrees.

Here is the latest on this matter.

Democratic Party Group Urges North Carolina Board of Elections to Keep We the People Party Off the Ballot

Posted on by June 13, 2024
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North Carolina is one of six states in which it is easier to qualify a new party for the ballot than complete an Independent petition for President. Yes, it does seem illogical, but that is also the case in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii and Texas.

And, North Carolina’s disparity is very large, currently 82,542 signatures for an Independent presidential petition and only 13,757 signatures for a new political party. This has been a long-time common path for Independent presidential candidates to take to minimize the cost of petition drives. There really isn’t anything new here.

Yet, Democratic PAC Clear Choice Action is calling the We the People Party a “sham party” and is urging the rejection of the petition by the NC State Board of Elections.

Here is the latest on this matter.