On August 20, the Seventh Circuit issued a six-page order in Libertarian Party of Illinois v Cadigan, 20-1961. It upholds the ballot access relief granted by a U.S. District Court in April 2020. It says, “The Board devotes not a word to addressing the harm this would cause to candidates and parties who have relied on the agreed preliminary injunction order.”
The order does not identify which judges handled the matter. Thanks to Mark Brown and Sam Cahnman for this news.
The Vermont Secretary of State has posted the November 2020 candidate list. See it here. Click on “preliminary draft candidate listing for November 3.” For president, there will be 22 candidates on the ballot. The parties with presidential nominees are Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Alliance, American Solidarity, Socialism & Liberation, Socialist Workers, Prohibition, Bread & Roses, and Approval Voting.
In addition, these independents qualified: Mark Charles, Richard Duncan, Gary Swing, Kyle Kopitke, Christopher LaFontaine, Keith McCormick, H. Brooke Paige, Brock Pierce, Zachary Scalf, and Kanye West.
On August 20, West Virginia filed this brief in Wilson v Justice, s.d., 2:20cv-526. This is the case over whether independent gubernatorial nominee Marshall Wilson should receive any ballot access relief due to the health crisis.
On August 18, the Fourth Circuit stayed the U.S. District Court decision that had told West Virginia to use a random procedure to determine the order of candidates on the ballot. The West Virginia law says the party that carried the state for president in the last election enjoys the top line for all its nominees. The U.S. District Court had found that unconstitutional, in a lawsuit filed by Democrats. The result of the Fourth Circuit stay is that West Virginia’s law will continue in place during 2020, and Republicans will be listed first.
The three judges who handled the Fourth Circuit appeal are Stephanie Thacker and James Wynn (Obama appointees), and Julius Richardson (a Trump appointee). Nelson v Warner, 20-1860.
On August 17, Democrats sued the Texas Green Party and won a court order in state court, ordering party leaders to tell election officials that most of their 2020 nominees are “not qualified.” On Wednesday, the courts removed the candidates. The basis is that they didn’t pay the filing fees. But the law requiring candidates of convention parties to pay filing fees was enjoined a few months ago, although then the State Appeals Court stayed that ruling. See this story.
The ruling has no effect on the presidential race, but it removes all the Green Party’s other statewide nominees. At any time, the other panel of the State Court of Appeals could issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the filing fee.
