Ohio Libertarian Party Files Brief in Case Challenging Exclusion of Minor Party Members from Serving on Ohio Election Commission

Posted on by January 9, 2020
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On January 9, the Ohio Libertarian Party filed this brief in U.S. District Court in LP of Ohio v Tavares, s.d., 2:19cv-2501. This is the case in which the Libertarian Party challenges the law that says the State Election Commission will be composed of three Democrats, three Republicans, and a seventh member who must be an independent. The Libertarian Party is ballot-qualified in Ohio and yet cannot possibly have a member on the commission.

The brief also asks that once the constitutional issue is determined, that the court rule on whether it was wrong for the Commission to have set up gubernatorial debates in 2018 in which only the Democratic and Republican Party nominees were invited, and without even setting any objective standards for admission to the debate.

Interesting Amicus Curiae Brief Filed in U.S. Supreme Court in Case Over Public Funding of Campaigns

Posted on by January 9, 2020
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Seattle has a type of public funding for city elections called “Democracy Vouchers”. Every voter is given vouchers. The voter can then donate them to his or her favorite candidates, and the candidates can get money to spend on their campaigns by redeeming the vouchers.

The U.S. Supreme Court is being asked to declare that the Seattle vouchers program, which is funded by a property tax, violates the First Amendment. On January 9, the American Association of Christian Schools filed an amicus in the case, Elster v City of Seattle, 19-608. The amicus, which argues the Court should strike down the vouchers, explains that even though campaign finance vouchers are unconstitutional, vouchers used to pay educational expenses for children who attend private schools are not unconstitutional. Here is the amicus.

Texas State Trial Court Puts Democratic Candidate on Primary Ballot

Posted on by January 8, 2020
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On January 7, a Texas state trial court in Houston ordered that George Powell’s name be added to the Democratic primary ballot in a judicial race. Powell had been told that he should pay $1,500 filing fee to the party in order to be on the ballot, and he did so. Then the Democratic Party rejected his application because the actual amount of the fee was $2,500. The court said the party accepted and cashed his check, and he had relied on the party’s statement that the fee was $1,500, so it is too late to exclude him. See this story.

California Trial in Party Labels Case Delayed Until January 2021

Posted on by January 8, 2020
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Both sides in the California lawsuit Soltysik v Padilla have agreed to postpone the trial from September 22, 2020, until January 5, 2021. This is the case in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on the California law that won’t let members of unqualified parties have their party label on the primary ballot. Instead they must have “party preference: none.” The plaintiff ran for legislature in 2014 and is a registered Socialist.