Four groups sponsoring statewide Massachusetts initiatives have asked the State Supreme Judicial Court to let them gather electronic signatures. The groups only need another 13,347 valid signatures. Massachusetts initiative procedures provide that if a group collects the signatures of 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote, the legislature must consider the idea behind the initiative. If the legislature refuses to enact the idea, they then need more signatures, but of only one-half of 1% of the last gubernatorial vote.

In all four cases, the legislature has not enacted the idea, and probably won’t by the early May deadline. So the four campaigns need a relatively small number of signatures to finish the job, but they feel they cannot finish unless electronic signatures are recognized. See this story.

The Michigan Secretary of State has not appealed to the Sixth Circuit in Esshaki v Whitman, the case over whether primary petition signature requirements should be cut by 50%. Although technically there is still time for the state to appeal, realistically there is not.

The U.S. District Court Judge denied the state’s request for reconsideration on Saturday, April 25, and the state has not since then filed anything in the case.

On April 27, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear Warren v Griswold, 2020SA140. This is the case over whether the primary petition for statewide office, 10,500 signatures, should be eased in 2020 due to the health crisis. The lower state court had ruled that it should be lowered.

The Colorado Supreme Court wants Warren’s brief by April 30, Thursday.