On March 19, U.S. District Court Judge Victoria Roberts refused to amend her decision in Graveline v Johnson, 2:18cv-12354. See her order here. She had earlier struck down the Michigan law requiring statewide independent candidates to collect 30,000 signatures. The state had asked her to amend her order, but she refused.
Kevin O’Connor, an attorney who is running as a Republican for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts, has called on the legislature to reform the petitioning process during the health crisis. See this story.
On March 19, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota, carried this op-ed urging that the need for candidate ballot access petitions be suspended. The op-ed is by leaders of the Green, Independence, and Libertarian Parties.
Georgia State Senator Brandon Beach attended a special session of the legislature on March 16 even though he had some symptoms of the corona virus. Later he tested positive, so the entire legislature has been sent home and legislators must quarantine themselves. See this story.
On March 19, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order permitting candidate petitions to be gathered and filed electronically.
No candidate in New Jersey ever needs more than 1,000 signatures. Statewide primary candidates need 1,000; general election statewide candidates need 800 signatures. District petitions never exceed 100 signatures.
The directions should soon be on the New Jersey Department of State’s website. Here is the Governor’s proclamation.
