The Peace & Freedom Party has asked the California Secretary of State to list Howie Hawkins and Gloria La Riva on its March 2020 presidential primary ballot.
The California Green Party has told the California Secretary of State that the party has approved Howie Hawkins and Dario Hunter for the March 2020 presidential primary ballot.
Although candidates can get on a California presidential primary ballot without party approval, it is not easy, in the case of California’s minor parties. An alternate method to get on a California minor party presidential primary is to show that the candidate is already on the presidential primary ballot of some other state. But the other states that have minor party presidential primaries tend to have later filing periods. The California requirement must be satisfied by November 26. The other states with Green Party presidential primaries don’t even let candidates file that early.
The Seventh Circuit will hear Gill v Scholz, 19-1125, on January 7, 2020, at 9:30 am. This is the case that challenges the Illinois 5% (of the last vote cast) petition requirement for independent candidates for U.S. House. In the U.S. District Court, one judge had enjoined the law and put the plaintiff on the ballot. But then the 7th circuit stayed that order, without explaining why.
After the election was over, the case was assigned to a different U.S. District Court judge, who upheld the law, even though no one has complied with it since 1974, unless one counts candidates who weren’t challenged and therefore were put on the ballot with no review of their petition.
On November 13, the Ninth Circuit heard oral argument in Tedards v Ducey, 19-16308, the case over when Arizona must hold an election to fill John McCain’s Senate seat. McCain died in August 2018 and the Arizona government said the next election for that election would be November 2020. Some voters sued, arguing the election needed to be earlier than that. One can hear the 42-minute argument at this link.
On Sunday, November 17, the Oregon Democratic Party central committee rejected a resolution to let independent voters choose the Democratic primary ballot. The vote was 76-55. See this story.
