Justice Alito Requests Response from Pennsylvania Democrats, in Lawsuit Over When Postal Ballots Must be Received

On September 29, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito asked Pennsylvania Democrats to respond to the lawsuit filed in the U.S. Supreme Court over Pennsylvania’s deadline for postal ballots to be received. The Pennsylvania State Supreme Court had ruled earlier that such ballots need not arrive in election administration offices until Friday, November 6. Then various Pennsylvania Republican leaders asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

The Democratic response is due Monday, October 5.

Oklahoma Removes Presidential Elector Candidate Names from Ballot, for First Time Ever

The Oklahoma November 2020 ballot does not list the names of candidates for presidential elector. This is the first time ever that the Oklahoma ballot has omitted their names.

A recent law gives the State Board of Elections the discretion to remove the names of the electors. The Board decided to remove them this year because there are six presidential candidates on the ballot. With seven presidential elector candidates for each candidate, putting the electors on the ballot would have added 42 names, which takes a fair amount of space.

This year Oklahoma has more presidential candidates on its November ballot than ever before. The previous largest number of presidential candidates was in 1908, when there were five: the nominees of the Democratic, Republican, Socialist, Prohibition, and Independence Parties.

Minnesota Congresswoman Files Federal Lawsuit Against State Law that Says Election for Her Seat Must be Postponed

On September 28, Angela Craig, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, filed a lawsuit against the Minnesota law that says an election in her district can’t be held on November 3. Craig v Simon, 0:20cv-2066. Here is her Brief, which was filed on September 29.

The reason the Minnesota Secretary of State had announced that no election would be held in the Second District is that one of the candidates, Adam Weeks, had died on September 21. The state law, passed in 2013, says if the nominee of a qualified party dies within 79 days of an election, the election is postponed til the second Tuesday in February of the following year. The lawsuit depends on the 1872 federal law, 2 USC 7, that tells states to hold congressional elections in November. Thanks to Steve Kamp for this news.

The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Wilhelmina Wright, an Obama appointee.

Fifth Circuit Temporarily Stays U.S. District Court Order on Texas Straight-Ticket Voting

On Monday, September 28, the Fifth Circuit issued a temporary stay in Texas Alliance for Retired Americans v Hughs, 20-40643. The U.S. District Court had ordered Texas to put a straight-ticket device on the November 3, 2020 ballot. The Fifth Circuit stay is only for a few days, while the Fifth Circuit considers the merits. The three judges who have the case are all appointees of George Bush Jr.: Edith Brown Clement, Catharine Haynes, and Jennifer Walker Elrod.