On February 12, the Federal Election Commission filed this brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in Level the Playing Field v FEC, 20-649. This is the lawsuit over who can be included in general election presidential debates.
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On February 8, dozens of major party candidates for New York local office filed a lawsuit in State Supreme Court, to seek relief from collecting signatures to get on the primary ballots this year. Here is the Complaint. Williams v Cuomo, State Supreme Court, Manhattan. Thanks to Mike Schaefer for this news.
On February 11, the New Hampshire Senate defeated SB 80, which would have set up an independent redistricting committee to draw U.S. House, legislative, and other districts. All Republicans voted against the bill and all Democrats voted for it. The vote was 14-11.
Approximately 120 Republicans recently held a zoom call to discuss forming a new party, which might be called the Integrity Party. Some of the participants are former members of Congress and former high-ranking federal executives. See this story. Thanks to many people who sent the link.
Last October, a 3-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit ruled against the city of Houston, Texas, over the city’s requirement that initiative circulators for city initiatives can only be circulated by residents of the city. On February 1, 2021, the entire Fifth Circuit refused to rehear the case, which is Pool v City of Houston, 19-20828.