An Illinois trial court has removed Natalie Rose DiCianni from the Democratic primary ballot because she listed her nickname and her surname together with a hyphen. Her petitions show her as Natalie Rose Shannon-DiCianni. “Shannon” is her nickname. See this story. She is appealing. She is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for Forest Preserve Commissioner of DuPage County.
David King, a candidate for Mayor of Milwaukee, is off the ballot because his petition was found to contain only 1,497 valid signatures. The requirement is 1,500. See this story.
Mayor is a nonpartisan office, but King is a Republican.
Last year the Texas legislature passed a bill requiring that candidates seeking the nomination of a qualified party that nominates by convention must pay filing fees. A state court enjoined the fees and the state appeals court will now decide whether the fees are in effect in 2020.
See this Dallas News story, which explains the frustration felt by candidates who don’t know if they will be on the general election ballot or not.
On January 21, the government of Delaware filed this brief in Carney v Adams, 19-309. This is the case over the Delaware Constitution, which says that only members of parties that have at least 5% of the voter registration are eligible to be appointed to most judicial offices.
The U.S. Supreme Court has accepted this case, so this brief is the first brief on the merits in this case.
The Delaware government brief points out that Adams, who is a registered independent, was formerly a registered Democrat. It says that when he changed his registration from Democratic to independent, he injured himself by becoming ineligible for a judgeship. The brief uses the term “self-injury.”
Laura Lane, chair of the Alabama Libertarian Party, has this opinion piece in Alabama Political Reporter, a well-read on-line news source. It details not only how severe the laws are, but reveals that Alabama is the only state that hasn’t had a statewide minor party candidate on the ballot, with the party label, since 2014. Alabama hasn’t had one since 2002.
