On June 17, Jason W. Bartlett, a Connecticut legislative candidate running in the August 11 Democratic primary, filed this request for reconsideration for himself in the lawsuit Gottlieb v Lamont, 3:20cv-623. This is the ballot access case involving primary candidates.
As reported previously, on April 23, a U.S. District Court ordered Illinois to provide ballot access relief to minor party and independent candidates. On June 8, Illinois officials appealed that decision, and asked that their appeal be expedited. The Seventh Circuit did not explicitly deny that request for expedited hearing, but it did set a briefing schedule that implicitly denies it. The plaintiffs need not file their response until July 15.
On June 18, the Sixth Circuit expedited Libertarian Party of Ohio v Wilhem (formerly known as Libertarian Party of Ohio v Taveras), 20-3585. This is the case in which the Libertarian Party challenges the law that excludes members of parties (other than the Democratic and Republican Parties) from ever being on the Ohio Election Commission. The U.S. District Court had upheld the law, which says the Commission shall consist of three Republicans, three Democrats, and an independent chosen by the other commissioners.
On June 15, leaders of the Ohio Green Party, and two of the Green Party candidates for the presidential nomination of the party, filed this brief in the Ohio Green ballot access case, Hawkins v DeWine, s.d., 2:20cv-2781. The state is trying to have the case dismissed because the Sixth Circuit had denied ballot access relief for Ohio initiatives in Thompson v DeWine. The plaintiffs argue that Thompson v DeWine was wrongly decided, rather than distinguishing between initiative ballot access and minor party/independent candidate ballot access.
Thompson v DeWine is pending in the U.S. Supreme Court.
U.S. District Court Judge John W. Sedwick is expediting the Alaska ballot access case, Alaska Libertarian Party v Fenumiai, 3:20cv-127. The state’s response is due June 29, and then the reply brief is due July 7. This is the case over ballot access due to the health crisis.
