On May 6, proponents of an Arkansas nonpartisan redistricting initiative filed this reply brief in U.S. District Court, in their lawsuit over ballot access for initiatives. Miller v Thurson, w.d., 5:20cv-5070.
Reply
On May 6, the Michigan Secretary of State said that primary petitions need a number of signatures equal to 70% of the statutory requirement. The Secretary of State made this decision after the Sixth Circuit said that some relief is required, but that the Secretary of State should be the person who decides how much relief is needed. This battle started in U.S. District Court, when Eric Esshaki won a 50% reduction.
Esshaki is on the ballot, but some of the intervenors in his lawsuit won’t be on the primary ballot if the Secretary of State’s 70% requirement is in force. Deana Beard, a candidate for a nonpartisan judicial race, and Bob Carr, a Republican running for U.S. Senate, won’t qualify under the Secretary of State’s rule, and they are intervening. Another hearing in U.S. District Court over the reasonableness of the 70% is set for Thursday afternoon, May 7. Meanwhile the Michigan Republican Party filed an amicus curiae brief to argue against letting electronic signatures be used. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
On May 6, independent presidential candidate Richard Duncan sued Ohio over ballot access. Duncan v LaRose, s.d., 2:20cv-2295. He had been collecting signatures in Ohio to get on the ballot since July 31, 2019, and he has a substantial amount, but fewer than the needed 5,000 signatures. Here is the Complaint.
He successfully got on the Ohio ballot as an independent presidential candidate in 2008, 2012, and 2016. He asks that the number of signatures be reduced due to the health crisis, or that the petition be suspended this year. His case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Michael Watson
On May 5, the Socialist Workers Party requested Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, to suspend the need for unqualified parties and independent candidates to obtain signatures this year. The letter points out that the Socialist Workers Party has been on the ballot for President in Minnesota in all elections 1948 through 2016.
On April 19, Joshua Eisen, an independent candidate for U.S. House, New York 17th district, filed a lawsuit for ballot access relief. Eisen v Cuomo, 54542/2020. Westchester County Supreme Court. The law requires 3,500 signatures between early April and late May. Governor Andrew Cuomo has ordered that the start date for such petitions be put off into the future, but he has not yet announced what the new start date should be. Also he has not cut the number of signatures for independent candidates for any office, even though some time ago he cut the number of signatures for primary candidates down to 30% of the legal requirement.
Eisen asks that electronic signatures be permitted, and that the number for U.S. House be cut from 3,500 to 1,000.