Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Keeps Howie Hawkins on the Ballot

Posted on by September 9, 2020
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On September 9, Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge J. Andrew Crompton issued an opinion in In Re Nomination Paper of Scroggin, 460 M.D. 2020. The opinion rejects the challenge against Howie Hawkins being on the ballot for President. However, it accepts the challenge to his vice-presidential running mate, Angela Walker.

The basis for the objection had been that the stand-in presidential and vice-presidential candidates had not submitted proper declarations of candidacy. But it turns out the stand-in presidential candidate did submit a declaration of candidacy, although the vice-presidential stand-in did not. The objectors had argued the candidacy statement for the presidential stand-in was flawed, but the judge felt it was sufficient.

The decision also says there is nothing improper about Hawkins being on the ballot for president, even though he will be paired with a blank for vice-president. The decision points out the true candidates are the candidates for presidential elector, and Hawkins has a valid set of candidates for presidential elector, so the ballot with list Hawkins for president and no one for vice-president. Here is the 15-page opinion. Thanks to Larry Otter for the link.

Hawkins will be on the ballot in the seven most populous states: California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Ohio. The most populous state in which he is not on the ballot is Georgia. Here is a news story.

Texas State Court of Appeals Upholds New Filing Fee For Nominees of Convention Parties, but Says Fees Cannot be Charged for People Seeking a Minor Party Nomination

Posted on by September 9, 2020
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On September 8, the Texas State Court of Appeals, 14th district, issued an opinion in Hughs v Dikeman, 14-19-00969-CV. This is the case filed last year by the Texas Libertarian Party against the 2019 law that says candidates from convention parties must pay the same filing fee that candidates running in a major party primary must pay.

The State Court of Appeals says it is constitutional to require nominees of convention parties to pay filing fees, but that the Secretary of State was wrong to rule that anyone seeking the nomination of a convention party must pay the fee. Therefore, the Court upholds the lower court injunction against the new law, as applied to 2020.

The State Court of Appeals did not give any state interest in the new filing fees except to recite the stock phrase about guarding against voter confusion and frivolous candidates. The evidence does not support these conclusions. The evidence will be more thorough in the federal case that is now pending against the new fees. That case is Miller v Hughs, w.d., 1:19cv-700.

This decision ought to mean that the Texas Green Party candidates who were removed from the ballot earlier should be able to get back on the ballot. They were running for congress and state office. The Texas Supreme Court had put the Libertarians back on the ballot on Saturday, September 5, on the narrow grounds that the Republican Party challenge to them had been filed too late. Thanks to Jim Riley for this news.

Wyoming Keeps Don Blankenship Off Ballot Due to a Paperwork Error

Posted on by September 9, 2020
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The Constitution Party is ballot-qualified in Wyoming, but its presidential nominee, Don Blankenship, is not on the ballot because the state party didn’t certify his name immediately after its state convention. It did certify the names of its presidential elector candidates, and its nominees for congress and state office.

The Wyoming law says parties that nominate by convention must certify their nominees “immediately after the state convention.” The major parties have more time to do that. President Trump was not even nominated by the Republican Party until August 24, but the Secretary of State says the Constitution Party’s deadline was August 17.

Alabama Libertarian Party Appeals Lawsuit on Access to List of Registered Voters

Posted on by September 9, 2020
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On September 4, the Alabama Libertarian Party filed notice of appeal in Libertarian Party of Alabama v Merrill, 20/13356. This is the case over the Alabama law that says qualified parties get a free list of the registered voters, but unqualified parties that are attempting to petition must pay $36,000 for the list.

The U.S. District Court upheld that law last month, despite the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court summarily affirmed a decision in 1970 on precisely this issue, Socialist Workers Party v Rockefeller, 400 US 806. In that case, the Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Labor Party had both petitioned for Mayor of New York city in 1969, and both petitions were rejected. In preparation for their statewide New York petitions in 1970, both parties filed a lawsuit to obtain access to the New York voters list, so as to help them check their own petitions and be more likely to succeed. They won the case in June 1970, and a few months later the U.S. Supreme Court summarily affirmed it.

The state of Alabama tried to argue that the Socialist Workers and Socialist Labor Parties were ballot-qualified when they won their case, but that is not true. In 1970 the New York petitioning period ran from August through early October, after the parties had won their case.

The U.S. District Court Alabama decision mentioned the New York precedent, but said it was not precisely the same issue. But the judge did not say why it wasn’t the same issue, and it is precisely the same issue. All other precedents on this issue since then, in lower courts, have resulted in wins for the plaintiff candidate or party.