On April 7, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Hinkle certified a class action in Jones v DeSantis, the case over whether ex-felons who can’t afford to pay court costs, restitution, or fines, may register to vote. This means that his prior decision, requiring that voter registration be allowed, now applies to more than just the individual plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Here is the order.
On March 25, five Massachusetts state representatives, all Democrats, introduced HB 4981. For 2020 only, it reduces the number of signatures to get on a primary ballot. The more important statewide offices now require 10,000 signatures, but the bill cuts that down to 3,300. The less important statewide offices now need 5,000, but the bill lowers those to 1,650. US House petitions would drop from 2,000 to 660 signatures.
The five sponsors are Patrick J. Kearney, Michelle Dubois, Maria Robinson, Nika Elugardo, and Denise Provost. So far the bill has not had a hearing. Petitions for 2020 primaries are due May 5.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker will hold a status conference in Independent Party of Florida v Lee, n.d., 4:20cv-110, on April 13, Monday, at 2:15 p.m. The purpose of the status conference is to set a date for oral argument. The issue is the Florida law that says if a ballot-qualified party is not recognized by the FEC, it can’t have a presidential nominee unless it submits 132,781 signatures by July 15.
The plaintiffs are the Independent Party and the Party for Socialism & Liberation. Both are ballot-qualified in Florida.
This New York Times story describes voting day in Wisconsin, April 7. There are only five polling places open in Milwaukee, leading to lines of up to two hours. Many voters still have not received their absentee ballots even though they had requested them in March.
The Atlantic has this article by two political scientists, Robert P. Saldin and Steven M. Teles. The first half describes how Evan McMullin came to be an independent presidential candidate in 2016.
