Michigan Secretary of State Issues Preliminary List of Presidential Primary Candidates

Posted on by November 8, 2019
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On November 8, the Michigan Secretary of State released an initial list of presidential primary candidates. In Michigan, only the Republican and Democratic Parties have a presidential primary. The Secretary of State is required by law to choose candidates discussed in the news media. She chose four Republicans and eighteen Democrats. This story has the list.

Anyone who was not included can still petition, but needs about 11,000 signatures. Any registered voter can sign. Thanks to Thomas Jones for the link.

Ninth Circuit Hears Oral Argument in California Case on Candidate Statements in the Voters Guide

Posted on by November 8, 2019
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On November 7, the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in Merritt v Padilla, 18-55457, the case over an independent candidate’s right to place a title above his own statement of qualifications (in the voter guide, which is sent to every voter in the postal mail) saying he is an independent candidate. Paul Merritt paid to have his statement in the guide when he ran for US Senate in 2016. He started his statement with his own title, saying he is an independent.

Without even telling him, the Secretary of State deleted that title. He then sued, arguing that the First Amendment protected his self-dsecription, and also that it violated due process for the Secretary to have not even consulted with him before doing that. The U.S. District Court ruled in favor of the government. Here is the audio of the hearing, which was before Judge M. Margaret McKeown (a Clinton appointee); Joseph Jerome Farris (a Carter appointee), and a visiting U.S. District Court Judge from Illinois, Virginia Kendall (a Bush Jr. appointee).

Eighth Circuit Sets Oral Argument in Arkansas Ballot Access Case

Posted on by November 8, 2019
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The Eighth Circuit will hear Libertarian Party of Arkansas v Thurston, 19-2503, on December 11, 2019, at 9 a.m. This is the case over the 2019 law that increased the petition for new parties from 10,000 signatures to 3% of the last gubernatorial vote (over 26,000 signatures). The U.S. District Court had enjoined the law earlier this year, and the state is appealing.

The three judges will be Michael Melloy (a Bush Jr. appointee); Ralph Erickson; and Jonathan Kobes (both Trump appointees).

Bloomberg Filing To Run for Democratic Party Presidential Nomination

Posted on by November 7, 2019
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Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is preparing to file paperwork to qualify for the Democratic presidential primary in Alabama, ahead of a Friday deadline. The move would be a first step toward a national campaign, though Bloomberg has not made a final decision to run.

Alabama has the first deadline for a primary ballot.

Scranton, Pennsylvania, Elects an Independent Candidate to be Mayor

Posted on by November 7, 2019
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On November 5, 2019, the voters of Scranton, Pennsylvania, elected an independent candidate to be Mayor. She is Paige Cognetti. She defeated her major party opponents by polling 36% of the vote. In order to win, she had to contend with the straight-ticket device, which was used by thousands of voters in Scranton. This year’s election is the last time Pennsylvania is using it. See this story, which has a link to the election returns, including the number of voters who used the straight-ticket device. Thanks to Michael Thompson for the link.