Arkansas Initiative Proponents Ask Arkansas Supreme Court to Rule that Paperwork is Not Flawed

On July 17, the proponents of three Arkansas statewide initiatives asked the State Supreme Court to rule that the paperwork they submitted, concerning their petitioners, is not flawed, and that the Secretary of State should proceed to check the validity of their signatures. Miller v Thurston, cv-20-454.

The Secretary of State had rejected three initiatives, without even checking their petitions, because the Secretary of State said their certification about their circulators was flawed. The law says proponents must submit a criminal records report, saying their petitioners have not been convicted of certain crimes. The proponents submitted paperwork saying they had done the criminal background checks. But the Secretary of State said the paperwork should have affirmatively declared that the circulators had not been convicted, instead of just saying that their records had been checked.

Ninth Circuit Denies Relief to Arizona Democratic Party in Lawsuit over Ballot Order

On July 22, the Ninth Circuit denied injunctive relief in the Arizona Democratic Party’s lawsuit on order of candidates on Arizona general election ballots. Macinas v Hobbs, 20-16301. Without relief, in almost all of Arizona’s counties, the Republican Party nominees will be on the top line. The case remains alive but will be decided after the 2020 election. The Democratic Party had asked for an order, requiring a random drawing to determine the top line.