Arizona Supreme Court Won’t Give Petition Relief for Initiatives

On May 15, the Arizona Supreme Court voted 6-1 to deny any petitioning relief for statewide initiatives. See this story. The Court has not yet explained its reasoning.

The only hope for Arizona initiatives this year now rest in the Ninth circuit, in the lawsuit Arizonans for Fair Elections v Hobbs, 20-15719. That lawsuit has a telephone hearing Wednesday, May 20, at 9 a.m.

Illinois Petition Deadline Moved from August 7 to July 20 by U.S. District Court

On May 15, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer modified the relief she had given petitioning candidates back on April 23. She moved the deadline from August 7 to July 20, after the state told her in a request for reconsideration that it could not cope with a deadline as late as August 7.

The state also had wanted her to change the petition requirement from 10% of the legal requirement, to 25%, but she denied that. The state had wanted her to move the deadline to July 6, but she didn’t do that either. Libertarian Party of Illinois v Pritzker, n.d., 1:20cv-2112.