On August 30, the California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed SB 696, the bill to force the American Independent Party to change its name to something that doesn’t have either “independent” or “independence.” All Democrats voted for it; all Republicans voted against it.
The sponsor, Senator Tom Umberg, is amending the bill, but he refused to let American Independent Party leaders (who were present) know what the amendment will be.
On August 30, a federal lawsuit was filed against certain North Carolina ballot access laws that affect independent candidates. The plaintiffs are Kyle Kopitke, an independent running for president; and Greg Buscemi, an independent candidate for U.S. House. Kopitke v Bell, e.d., 7:19cv-164-D.
The lawsuit challenges the February petition deadlines for independent candidates, which has existed since early 2017. It also challenges the number of signatures, both for statewide independent candidates and candidates for U.S. House. Statewide independents need 70,000 signatures, and U.S. House independents need approximately 15,000.
A U.S. District Court in North Carolina already ruled in 2004 that the state cannot require more signatures for statewide independents than for newly-qualifying parties. After the 2004 decision, DeLaney v Bartlett, the state equalized the statewide independent and new party petitions. But then in late 2017 they sharply reduced the number of signatures for new parties, so that the two requirements were again different. New parties need 11,778 signatures.
The lawsuit also challenges the requirement that write-in candidates must file a petition in order to have their write-ins counted.
The Colorado referendum petition to repeal the National Popular Vote law in Colorado has enough signatures. See this story. It will be on the November 2020 ballot. This will be the first time that voters of any state have voted on the plan.
The Colorado Republican Party contributed some of the money used to pay the petitioners. Thanks to a commenter for the link.
The Hayride, a politics blog from Louisiana, here carries an article about Phil Collins, the newly-chosen 2020 Prohibition Party presidential nominee. The article also talks about Texas ballot access law.
Three amici curiae briefs have been filed in the U.S. Supreme Court in Thompson v Hebdon, 19-122. The issues are Alaska’s $500 limit on individual contributions to candidates for state office, and the strict limit on how much money a candidate may receive from individuals who don’t live in Alaska.
Here is the amicus of Cato Institute and the Institute for Justice. It is concerned solely with the $500 limit.
Here is the amicus of the Institute for Free Speech, which is also entirely concerned with the $500 limit, and argues that the Supreme Court precedents on contribution limits are hopelessly inadequate and should be re-evaluated.
Here is the brief of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, which is also concerned with the $500 limit, but argues that the lower courts in this case improperly considered public opinion polling when they upheld the Alaska limits. The brief argues forcefully that the courts should not adjudicate First Amendment cases based on whether the restriction is popular.
