Illinois Initiative Ballot Access Lawsuit Has Hearing May 1

Posted on by April 29, 2020
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On May 1, U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough will hold a hearing in Bambenek v Althoff, c.d., 3:20cv-3107. This is a case filed in U.S. District Court in Springfield on April 27, requesting petition relief for a statewide initiative and a pair of local initiatives. The plaintiffs are trying to qualify a statewide initiative, but it needs 363,813 valid signatures by May 3. They are also trying to qualify local initiatives for Champaign County and also Decatur. They ask that electronic signatures be permitted, that the number of signatures be cut, that the deadlines be extended, and at least that notarization for each petition sheet be waived.

Eleventh Circuit Says Plaintiffs in Florida Lawsuit on Order of Candidates Don’t Have Standing

Posted on by April 29, 2020
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On April 29, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs in Jacobson v Lee, 19-14552, don’t have standing to challenge the Florida law that has put the Republican Party nominees on the top line of the ballot for the last twenty years. They also said the case is flawed because the plaintiffs should have sued the county election officials instead of the Secretary of state.

The U.S. District Court had invalidated the law.

The three judges were William Pryor, a Bush Jr. appointee; Jill Pryor, an Obama appointee; and Robert Luck, a Trump appointee. All three judges agreed that the plaintiffs lacked standing. The Florida Democratic Party was not a plaintiff, but the Democratic National Committee was. It is unclear if the case could be refiled with the Florida Democratic Party as a plaintiff.

Judge Jill Pryor thought that the Secretary of State was a proper defendant.

Judge William Pryor wrote separately (even though he wrote the majority opinion) to say that he thinks ballot order cannot be adjudicated in federal court becaues it is a “political question”, but the other two judges didn’t agree with that idea. Judge William Pryor feels that because the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that partisan gerrymandering cases can’t be considered by federal courts, therefore ballot order cases can’t either.

Tenth Circuit Agrees with U.S. District Court that Kansas Can’t Force Voter Registration Applicants to Submit Proof of Citizenship

Posted on by April 29, 2020
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On April 29, the Tenth Circuit issued an opinion in Fish v Schwab, 18-3133, agreeing with the U.S. District Court that Kansas can’t require voter registration applicants to submit paperwork proving they are citizens.

The evidence showed that over 30,000 voter registration applicants had been unable to successfully complete the registration process. And Kansas could only show conclusively that only 39 non-citizens had registered to vote over a long period of time.

The three judges were Mary Briscoe, a Clinton appointee; Jerome Holmes, a Bush Jr. appointee; and Monroe McKay, a Carter appointee. Judge McKay died on March 28, 2020, at the age of 91, so the vote was 2-0. Tenth Circuit rules permit a panel of two surviving judges to release an opinion when the two judges agree with each other.

Kansas passed its requirement in 2011, and it has been under litigation almost since it was first passed. First the courts ruled that applicants who used the federal voter registration couldn’t be required to attach proof of citizenship. Then the litigation continued, relative to applicants who use the state form. Generally, for most people proof of citizenship meant attaching a certified copy of a birth certificate.

Andrew Yang’s Lawsuit to Reinstate New York Presidential Primary Now Has a Judge

Posted on by April 29, 2020
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On April 29, U.S. District Court Judge Analisa Torres was assigned to the lawsuit filed by Andrew Yang. The issue is whether the New York order cancelling the presidential primary violates the U.S. Constitution. Torres is an Obama appointee. Yang v New York State Board of Elections, s.d., 1:20cv-3325. This lawsuit will move very fast.

New York cannot creditably claim that cancelling the presidential primary makes anyone safer, because New York is holding its primary for non-presidential office on June 23.