On July 2, proponents of a Montana initiative submitted this brief to the Ninth Circuit in Pierce v Stapleton, 21-35173. This is the case that challenges the Montana ban on out-of-state circulators for initiatives.
2
On July 1, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion in Brnovich v Democratic National Committee, 19-1257. The issues were two Arizona election laws that made it more difficult for certain kinds of voters to vote. A federal lawsuit was filed to overturn the two laws, on the grounds that they had a disparate effect on certain racial and ethnic minorities. One of the laws banned most people from delivering voted postal ballots to the post office or to an election administration center. Evidence strongly showed that law had a particular severe burden on Native Americans living in the very remote northeast corner of Arizona. The other law banned people from submitting provisional ballots on election day in precincts other than their home precincts.
The Republican appointees on the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the laws and ruled that Section Two of the Voting Rights Act, which bans election laws that put an unequal burden on racial and ethnic minorities, does not prohibit laws like that. Because this case was not a constitutional case, but a case in which the court was interpreting federal law, Congress is free, if it wishes, to amend the law and make it clear that such laws are barred.
The same day the court decision came down, Congressman Mondaire Jones (D-New York) introduced HR 4298, to amend the law so that it more clearly applies to laws such as these two Arizona laws. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the news about HR 4298. The text of the bill is not yet on the congressional website.
A Sacramento County Superior Court will hear Newsom v Weber, 34-2021-80003666, on July 9, Friday, at 9:30 am. This is the lawsuit filed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to have his party label on the September 14, 2021 recall ballot. The law authorizes anyone being recalled to request that his party label be on the ballot, but the law requires the recalled official to make the request as soon as he or she is notified of the recall petition and files a response. Newsom did not file the form on time.
On July 2, the New Hampshire Supreme Court unanimously struck down a law passed in 2018 that makes it more difficult to register to vote. New Hampshire Democratic Party v Secretary of State, 2020-0252. Here is the 19-page opinion.
On June 28, the New Mexico Supreme Court issued a one-sentence ruling saying that the lower state court ruling in Grider v Oliver, S-1-SC-38784, is affirmed. The Supreme Court did not provide any analysis or detail. The lower court had ruled that the Libertarian Party was properly on the ballot in last month’s special U.S. House election. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
The New Mexico definition of a major party says that it is a group that polled 5% of the gubernatorial or presidential vote for “any” of its candidates. In 2020 the Libertarian Party polled over 5% of the presidential vote total for one of its statewide judicial nominees, and the Libertarian Party and the Secretary of State agreed that this meant that the party meets the definition. But a voter had challenged that decision, arguing that only the vote for president or governor counts toward party qualification.