This story says the Republican National Committee appears to favor keeping the “official business” of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, while finding another city to host a rally in which President Trump would accept his nomination.
A surviving renmant of the McCain-Feingold Law sharply restricts the ability of individuals to donate funds to political parties. However, recently Michael Bloomberg gave millions of dollars to the Democratic Party, money taken from his presidential campaign account.
On May 29, Shaun McCutcheon asked the Federal Election Commission if he could make a similar donation to the Libertarian Party, for $50,000. McCutcheon had filed on May 1 to run for the Libertarian Party presidential nomination. He has over $50,000 left over in his campaign account. Now he wants to transfer that amount to the party, just as Bloomberg had done for the Democratic Party. Here is his request.
McCutcheon already won a campaign finance lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court several years ago. In McCutcheon v FEC, the Court ruled 5-4 that the limit on how much individuals can donate to all federal candidates cumulatively in any particular election year violates the First Amendment. Thanks to the Institute for Free Speech for this news.
On May 27, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party asked a U.S. District Court to intervene in the minor party ballot access case, Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania v Wolf, e.d., 5:20cv-2299. The case asks for petitioning relief for the Libertarian, Green, and Constitution Parties.
The Democratic Party brief opposes petitioning relief for the minor parties. It says Democrats had to petition to get on the Democratic primary ballot. But the petitioning period for members of major parties ended February 18, 2020, before the impact of the health crisis. Furthermore, no Democrat needed more than 2,000 signatures, but the statewide minor party candidates need 5,000.
On June 3, the Maryland Green and Libertarian Parties filed this reply brief in their ballot access case, Maryland Green Party v Hogan, 1:20cv-1253. This is the case that argues for ballot access relief due to the health crisis.
On June 1, U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker held a hearing in Baines v Dunlap, 1:19cv-509. This is the Maine Libertarian ballot access case. The party is asking for injunctive relief, to restore it to the ballot. It was removed in November 2018 for failing to have 10,000 registered members who cast a ballot in the general election. The state then converted all its registered members from Libertarians to independents, without even asking them.
The case also challenges the January deadline for a new party to qualify, and the number of signatures needed for a member of a small qualified party to get on his or her own party’s primary ballot. A decision will be rendered fairly soon.
