Four California Voters, Including One Democrat, File Federal Lawsuit Against New California Presidential Income Tax Law

On August 1, four California voters filed a federal lawsuit against the new California law on presidential candidate tax returns and ballot access. Griffin v Padilla, e.d., 2:19cv-1477. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge John A. Mendez, a Bush Jr. appointee. See here for the complaint.

One of the plaintiffs is a registered Democrat. The Complaint points out that four Democratic presidential candidates have not revealed their federal income tax returns. They are Joe Biden, Julian Castro, Tulsi Gabbard, and Andrew Yang. This lawsuit is being handled by Judicial Watch, a conservative organization based in Washington, D.C.

California Republican Voter Files Federal Lawsuit Against New Law on Presidential Tax Returns and Ballot Exclusion

On August 5, a California Republican primary voter living in Los Angeles County filed a federal lawsuit against the new California law that keeps presidential candidates off primary ballots unless they reveal the last five years of income tax returns. Lykins v Newsom, c.d., 2:19cv-6761.

Here is the Complaint. So far, the case had not yet been assigned to any particular judge.

Arkansas Secretary of State Files Angry Two-Page Brief in U.S. District Court, Asking Why State’s Request for a Stay Has Received No Response

On August 5, the Arkansas Secretary of State filed this two-page brief, seeming to express anger that the U.S. District Court in Libertarian Party of Arkansas v Thurston, e.d., 4:19cv-214, has not acted on the state’s request for a stay. The U.S. District Court on July 3 had enjoined the 3% petition for party status in this case, leaving the old 10,000-signature requirement in place. Since then, the Secretary of State has verified that the party did submit at least 10,000 valid signatures, so the party is on, unless either the U.S. District Court or the Eighth Circuit grants a stay.