On April 2, the Illinois Libertarian and Green Parties filed a federal lawsuit to gain ballot access relief for 2020. Libertarian Party of Illinois v Pritzker, n.d., 1:20cv-2112. Here is the Complaint. UPDATE: the case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Charles Norgle, a Reagan appointee. Although he has been a federal judge since 1984, it does not appear that he has ever before had a constitutional ballot access case.
On April 1, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice moved the primary for all office from May 12 to June 9. Thanks to Jeff Becker for this news.
The change does not have any effect on minor party or independent candidate petitions. The deadline for those petitions is August 3, and there is no connection between the primary date and the petition deadline.
On March 30, Vermont Governor Phil Scott signed HB 681, which eliminates all candidate petitions during 2020, both for candidates seeking a spot on a primary ballot, or the general election. Here is the bill. Scroll down past the bill’s original contents. As introduced originally, the bill had nothing to do with election law. Thanks to Ballotpedia for this news.
Without this bill, unqualified parties would have needed 1,000 signatures to place their presidential nominee on the November ballot. The only qualified parties besides the Democratic and Republican Parties are the Liberty Union, Progressive, Green Mountain, and Libertarian Parties. The Green Mountain Party is organized only in Vermont, has never participated in a presidential election, and has no connection to the Green Party.
On March 31, Don Blankenship, a leading candidate for the Constitution Party presidential nomination, won a procedural victory in his defamation lawsuit against the National Republican Senatorial Committee and many large media companies. Blankenship v Napolitano, s.d.W.V., 2:19cv-236.
Here is the opinion. Some of the defendants were excused from the lawsuit, often because they showed they have virtually no readership in West Virginia. The basis for the lawsuit is that many media figures labelled Blankenship a “felon.” He was convicted of the misdemeanor of conspiring to violate federal mine safety laws in 2016, but he was never convicted of a felony, and the evidence so far suggests that the media reporters and commentators knew that, but used the term “felon” anyway. Now there will be a trial. Blankenship will need to establish that the groups he sued had malice against him. Thanks to Frank Fluckiger for this news.
On April 2, U.S. District Court Judge William Conley ordered some changes in the upcoming Wisconsin primary. He did not delay the election, which is a presidential primary combined with non-partisan judicial elections. But he made some changes in voting procedures. (1) mailed absentee ballot don’t need to arrive at the election administration office until April 13; (2) the deadline for requesting an absentee postal ballot is extended til April 3; (3) absentee applicants no longer need a notarized statement explaining why they can’t vote at the polls.
Read his 53-page opinion, explaining the basis for his order, here.
