North Dakota Bill to Make Presidential Election Returns Secret if National Popular Vote Plan Goes Into Effect

Posted on by March 5, 2021
25

On February 17, the North Dakota Senate passed SB 2271 by 43-3, making it illegal for any government employee or contractor to release any presidential general election returns before the Electoral College meets in mid-December. Government could release the percentage of the vote received by any presidential candidate, but not the vote total. The bill only takes effect once the National Popular Vote Plan goes into effect. Here is the text.

The purpose of the bill is to sabotage the National Popular Vote plan. The bill is receiving strong opposition from editorials. So far it has not made any headway in the House.

Here is an interesting op-ed by a Senator who voted for the bill but who now regrets her vote. Here is an op-ed in the Jamestown Sun against the bill.

Arkansas Bill Making Presidential Ballot Access More Difficult Passes Legislature

Posted on by March 5, 2021
4

On March 3, the Arkansas Senate passed HB 1338 by a vote of 29-3. It raises the number of signatures for independent presidential candidates, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, from 1,000 signatures to 5,000.

The only three “no” votes were cast by Senators Joyce Elliott, Jim Hendren, and Clarke Tucker. Hendren is a Republican; the other two are Democrats.

U.S. District Court in Illinois Will Rule on Law that Lets Party Township Caucuses Require All Candidates to Run as Part of a Slate

Posted on by March 4, 2021
4

Illinois township elections are mostly partisan. The Illinois election law lets township parties decide for themselves whether to nominate by primary or caucus. If the party nominates by caucus, it has the power to insist that no one may be nominated who is not part of a slate of candidates for all the township offices. Townships elect a supervisor and trustees.

Bloom Township’s Democratic Party had a contested caucus last month, and many candidates were not able to be nominated because they weren’t part of a full slate. Some of those candidate have filed a federal lawsuit, Merrick v Wilcox, n.d., 1:20cv-7782, alleging that the full slate rule for caucus township nominations is unconstitutional. They were in state court earlier, but the state court wouldn’t consider the constitutional issue.

The township general election is April 6, 2021. Here is a motion filed on March 4 by the plaintiffs, asking that the candidates who were not able to be nominated at the caucus at least be allowed to be on the general election ballot as independents.

Arkansas Independent Files Supplemental Brief in Eighth Circuit in Ballot Access Case

Posted on by March 4, 2021
3

On March 2, Dan Whitfield filed this supplemental brief in his ballot access case, Whitfield v Thurston, 20-2309. The issue is whether Arkansas should have permitted petitioning relief in 2020 for independent non-presidential candidates, who were forced to circulate their petitions during the months of February, March, and April. The health crisis could not have been predicted, and social distancing rules began in March 2020. Whitfield needed 10,000 signatures, because he was running for U.S. Senate.

The supplemental brief was requested by the judges, and concerns mootness. Here is the state’s brief, which argues that the case is moot. The state’s brief quotes a Seventh Circuit opinion, Krislov v Yarbrough, issued February 22, 2021, which says that that Illinois ballot access case is moot because the plaintiff-candidate doesn’t intend to run in future elections. But the Seventh Circuit opinion on mootness is wrong. The U.S. Supreme Court said in Moore v Ogilvie, in 1969, that a constitutional ballot access isn’t moot once the election is over, even if the candidate-plaintiff does not intend to run in future elections. This is mentioned in a separate 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case, Richardson v Ramirez, 418 US 24, that neither brief mentions. See page 35 of Richardson v Ramirez, which says, “the particular candidacy was not apt to be revived in a future election.”

U.S. House Passes HR 1

Posted on by March 4, 2021
36

On the evening of March 3, the U.S. House passed HR 1 by 220-210. It contains many provisions that would help voting rights. It no longer allows states to disenfranchise ex-felons, for federal elections. It requires all states to have nonpartisan redistricting commissions, for drawing U.S. House districts. It requires that all states, in federal elections, use paper ballots instead of electronic vote-counting machines that don’t produce a paper trail. Unfortunately, not only does it not do anything for ballot access, it indirectly hurts ballot access for minor party and independent presidential candidates by making it five times more difficult for them to qualify for primary season matching funds.

The bill is not expected to pass the U.S. Senate, given the existence of the filibuster which would require support from 60 U.S. Senators. But it is possible that the ideas in the bill will be broken up into separate bills, some of which might pass.