Prominent Democratic Party Attorney Op-Ed on Ballot Order Lawsuits

Marc Elias, a prominent election law attorney who represents the Democratic Party in many lawsuits, has this op-ed in the Washington Post about his lawsuits against laws that give Republicans the top line on the ballot in some states. The op-ed is very good, but it does not say anything about whether the principles of fairness should apply to all candidates and parties. The Elias briefs in ballot order lawsuits sometimes tell the courts that minor party and independent candidates should not be given an opportunity to be listed first on the ballot.

Andrew Yang Won’t be on Ohio Democratic Presidential Primary Because of a Technical Flaw

According to this article in The Hill, Andrew Yang won’t be on the March 2020 Ohio presidential primary ballot because most of his petitions did not have a copy of the signed declaration of candidacy signed by Yang. He will campaign as a write-in candidate in that primary.

The Ohio official list of candidates won’t be released until January 7. Thanks to Jim Riley for the link.

Brief Filed in Maryland Lawsuit Over Access to List of Registered Voters

On December 20, 2019, Dennis Fusaro filed this brief in Fusaro v Cogan in U.S. District Court. This is the case that challenges a Maryland law that says only a registered voter in Maryland may purchase the list of registered voters, and the list can only be used for a purpose related to the “electoral process.” Fusaro lives in Virginia. He wants the list to write a letter to active registered Maryland voters about the behavior of a certain elected Maryland official. The case was filed in 2017, and Fusaro lost in U.S. District Court, but then the Fourth Circuit remanded the case and said the Maryland law may violate the First Amendment. The case is back in U.S. District Court and Fusaro is asking for summary judgment.