On February 19, the New Hampshire House defeated HB 1214 on a voice vote. It would have eased ballot access for minor parties.
The House also defeated HB 1403, which would have changed New Hampshire general election ballots from party-column ballots, to office-group ballots. Very few states still have party-column ballots. The others are Connecticut, Delaware, New York, and most counties in New Jersey. Thanks to Darryl Perry for this news.
February 17 was the deadline for presidential primary candidates to file their petitions in Pennsylvania. Eight Democrats submitted petitions: Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg, Pete Buttigieg, Tulsi Gabbard, Amy Klobuchar, Bernie Sanders, Tom Steyer, and Elizabeth Warren.
Three Republicans, Rocky De La Fuente, President Donald Trump, and William Weld, submitted petitions.
On January 29, the Pennsylvania Senate unanimously passed SB 779. It moves the primary for all office, including president, from the fourth Tuesday in April to the third Tuesday in March. It would not take effect until 2024. It would have no impact on petition deadlines for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties.
On February 19, the Eleventh Circuit issued a 78-page ruling in Jones v Governor of Florida, 19-14551. By a vote of 3-0, it upholds the injunction issued earlier by the U.S. District Court, holding that Florida ex-felons who cannot afford to pay restitution, fines, and court costs, must be allowed to register to vote. Here is the ruling.
The three judges on the case are R. Lanier Anderson, a Carter appointee; Stanley Marcus, a Clinton appointee, and visiting U.S. District Court Judge Barbara Rothstein, a Carter appointee. The decision says that heightened scrutiny applies to this Equal Protection case. It also came close to asserting that the Florida restriction, at least as applied to the particular plaintiffs, is not even rational.
The case is not over. There will be a trial in U.S. District Court. But in the meantime, the state will need to set up machinery for determining which ex-felons can afford to pay, and which cannot. Evidence so far in this case suggests that 80% of ex-felons cannot afford to pay court costs, restitution, or fines in their cases. It is likely that 1,000,000 individuals can now seek to register to vote.
The Voice of San Diego, an on-line non-profit news source, has this article about Rocky De La Fuente and his ballot access lawsuits.
