Democratic Party Lawsuit Over Arizona Order of Candidates on Ballot Begins to Move Ahead in Ninth Circuit

Posted on by January 17, 2021
1

Last year, the Democratic Party sued Arizona over its law that determines the order of candidates on the November ballot. The law says the party that won the gubernatorial vote should have all its nominees listed first, within any particular county. Because the Republicans won the 2018 gubernatorial election in almost all of Arizona’s counties, Republicans were listed first in 2020, and will again be listed in 2022, in almost all counties, unless the law is changed.

In the Ninth Circuit, the case is Mecinas v Hobbs, 20-0249. The Democrats failed to get injunctive relief in 2020. The U.S. District Court said that laws on the order of candidates on the ballot cannot be heard in federal court, because “fair” ballot order is inherently ambiguous. That is an absurd conclusion. Obviously a law that provides for random decisions about order of candidates is fair. Another fair method is rotation of names from one geographical unit to the next.

The opening brief is due in the Ninth Circuit on March 18, 2021.

Arizona Supreme Court Still Hasn’t Explained Why it Kept Kanye West Off November 2020 Ballot

Posted on by January 17, 2021
3

On September 8, 2020, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a short order in West v Clayton, CV-20-0249, saying Kanye West could not be on the Arizona November ballot as an independent candidate for president because his candidates for presidential elector had not filed statements of Economic Interest. The Court said it would explain its reasoning later.

Four months have passed, and the court still hasn’t issued its explanation. It will probably be very difficult for the Arizona Supreme Court to explain its action. No one ever before had interpreted the Arizona law to mean that candidates for presidential elector must file campaign finance documents. No other state has ever required candidates for presidential elector to file campaign finance statements. The Arizona Secretary of State’s website has very clear instructions for independent presidential candidates and the Secretary of State’s website had never said that presidential elector candidates must file such documents.

Ninth Circuit Sets Oral Argument in Alaska Case Over Low Campaign Contribution Limits

Posted on by January 17, 2021
2

The Ninth Circuit will hear Thompson v Hebdon, 17-35019, on Monday, February 22, at 10 a.m. This is the Alaska case over the $500 limit on how much an individual may contribute to a candidate for state office, or to a political group. The law also makes it almost impossible for a non-resident of Alaska to contribute anything. The Ninth Circuit had upheld these laws in 2018, but then in 2019 the U.S. Supreme Court had summarily reversed the decision and remanded it back to the Ninth Circuit.

In 2006 the U.S. Supreme Court had struck down Vermont’s $400 limits in Randall v Sorrell. The Ninth Circuit in the Alaska case had declined to apply the Randall decision because there was no single U.S. Supreme Court opinion signed by a majority of members of the U.S. Supreme Court. But then the U.S. Supreme Court said the Ninth Circuit was in error; the Randall holding is binding regardless of whether there was a single majority opinion.

Here is the Ninth Circuit brief of the groups opposed to the Alaska limits. It was filed in March 2020. The case has moved very slowly.

New Hampshire Ballot Access Bill

Posted on by January 17, 2021
2

New Hampshire Representative Max Abramson (R-Seabrook) has introduced HB 570. It would ease ballot access for new and previously unqualified parties. It sets up a minor party classification in the law. A minor party is a group with at least 500 registered members. It would nominate by convention.

The bill also expands the definition of a qualified major party, to include having received at least 4% for president. Currently only elections for U.S. Senate and Governor count toward meeting the 4% vote test. Here is the bill’s text.