The Fourth Circuit wants oral argument in Kopitke v Bell, 19-2355. This is the lawsuit challenging North Carolina’s March petition deadline for independent candidates, and the requirement that they collect approximately 70,000 valid signatures if they are running for statewide office.
Neither side had requested oral argument. The court wants the argument set in early May 2020.
On February 20, U.S. District Court Judge John R.Blakey issued an injunction in Swart v City of Chicago, n.d., 1:19cv-6213, requiring Chicago to allow petitioning in Millenium Park, the city’s most-visited park. The case had been filed by individuals working on a local initiative petition. Thanks to DemoRep for this news.
UPDATE: here is the decision.
On February 19, the Missouri House Elections & Elected Officials Committee heard testimony on HB 1639, to change Missouri from an open primary to a closed primary. The author is Representative Jered Taylor (R-Republic). If passed, the bill would not take effect until 2026. It has another hearing on February 26. See this story.
A Nevada initiative for a top-two primary is circulating in Nevada. The Reno Gazette Journal has this op-ed by John Linden, criticizing the idea.
This Politico story says the Republican National Committee, and the Trump re-election campaign, have appropriated another $10,000,000 for legal fees in various lawsuits relating to election law. Thanks to several people for the link. Republicans are intervening in all of the Democratic Party lawsuits that challenge state laws that put Republican nominees on the top line, and they are intervening in many other election law lawsuits as well. The Republican Party is also filing amicus curiae briefs in the U.S. Supreme Court case over Delaware’s law that bans independents and minor party members from ever being appointed to judgeships.
