In California, some qualified parties let independents vote in their presidential primaries, but others don’t. Assembly bill 681, by Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, requires that county election officials send three notices to all voters in advance of the presidential primary, telling them which parties allow independents to vote in their primaries. At least one of the notices must be sent electronically. On April 24, the Assembly Appropriations Committee declined to pass the bill, and put it on the suspense file.
All four of the lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of at-large election of presidential electors have lost in U.S. District Court. All four are being appealed. All four had been filed in 2018 by David Boies, the well-known attorney who argued Bush v Gore for Al Gore in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2000.
The California case, Rodriguez v Brown, lost on September 21,2018 in U.S. District Court, and is now being appealed to the Ninth Circuit, where it is case 18-56281. The final brief is due May 1.
The Massachusetts case, Lynn v Baker, lost in U.S. District Court on December 7, 2018. In the First Circuit it is case 18-2235.
The Texas case, League of United Latin American Citizens v Abbott, lost on February 25, 2019. In the Fifth Circuit it is case 19-50214.
The South Carolina case, Baten v McMaster, lost on March 8, 2019. In the Fourth Circuit it is case 19-1297.
These cases are very difficult to win, because many decades ago, similar cases had lost and one of those decisions was summarily affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Ballot Access News
April 1, 2019 – Volume 34, Number 11
| This issue was printed on white paper. |
Table of Contents
- NEW MEXICO EASES INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE PETITION
- LIBERTARIANS SUE ARKANSAS
- KENTUCKY CHANGES DECLARATION DEADLINE TO JANUARY
- U.S. SUPREME COURT WON’T HEAR UTAH REPUBLICAN CASE
- CONGRESSIONAL BALLOT ACCESS BILL
- NEW ACCESS BILLS IN ALASKA AND TEXAS
- THREE STATES PASS NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE BILL
- THREE STATES MOVE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DATES
- ARIZONA MAY CREATE ABSURD DEADLINE
- BILLS TO ALTER PRIMARY SYSTEMS
- BILLS TO BAN STRAIGHT-TICKET FAIL TO PASS
- BILLS TO REQUIRE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES TO SHOW TAX RETURNS
- CONSTITUTIONAL QUALIFICATIONS LAWSUITS FOR FEDERAL OFFICE
- REPUBLICANS IN CLOSED PRIMARIES MORE LIKELY TO VOTE AGAINST TRUMP
- NEW YORK FUSION
- ELECTION RETURNS BOOKS RELEASED
- 2020 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
- MARCH 2019 ELECTIONS
- ALLIANCE PARTY BEGINS 2020 PETITIONING
- DEMOCRATS CHOOSE MILWAUKEE
- CONSTITUTION PARTY GAINS A PARTISAN OFFICE-HOLDER
- MISSISSIPPI 2019 STATE ELECTION
- MARK CUBAN, INDEPENDENT?
- NORTH CAROLINA SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS
- SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL
A Vermont omnibus election law bill, SB 107, passed the Senate on March 21. It removes the prohibition against signing more than one petition for any particular office. It also requires write-in candidates who want their write-ins counted to file a declaration of write-in candidacy in advance of the election.
On April 24, the Florida House passed HB 7111 by 71-41. It makes it more difficult for initiative to get on the statewide ballot. See this story.