U.S. District Court Restores Local Initiative to Ballot of Salem, West Virginia

Posted on by April 19, 2019
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On April 19, U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Kleeh, a Trump appointee, ordered the city of Salem, West Virginia, to restore a local initiative to the June 4, 2019 ballot. The order is oral and is not yet in writing. UPDATE: see this news story.

The city had removed an initiative to decriminalize marijuana even though it had enough valid signatures. City officials felt the initiative, if passed, would contradict state law and be invalid. But the proponents charged that it violates due process for the city to have taken that action. The case is Hyman v City of Salem, n.d., 1:19cv-75.

This decision is similar to one from last year concerning local initiatives in Portage County, Ohio. Thanks to Mark Brown for this news.

Rhode Island Senate Passes Presidential Tax Returns Bill

Posted on by April 19, 2019
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On April 10, the Rhode Island Senate passed SB 342 by 28-10. It requires presidential candidates to reveal their tax returns, or they can’t be on the ballot in either a presidential primary, or the general election. Here is a copy of the bill. The bill does not try to tell presidential electors that they can’t vote for a presidential candidate who hasn’t released tax returns.

Colorado Bill that Injures Ballot Access Passes Another Committee

Posted on by April 19, 2019
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On April 19, the Colorado House Appropriations Committee passed HB 19-1278. It had also passed the House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on April 2. It now goes to the House.

It increases the number of signatures, for independent candidates and the nominees of unqualified parties, for all office except president. The worst change is for statewide office, which goes from 1,000 signatures to 10,500, with the addition of a difficult congressional district distribution requirement.

More states have seen bills to make ballot access worse this year than at any time since 1971. Fortunately most of them have died, or appear unlikely to pass. The three that have already passed are in New York, Kentucky, and Arkansas. The latter two states made ballot access worse but have already been sued by the Libertarian Party over the 2019 changes.

Georgia Ballot Access Case Gets Closer to a Decision

Posted on by April 18, 2019
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In 2017, the Georgia Libertarian Party filed a federal lawsuit against the Georgia law on how independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, get on the ballot for U.S. House. Cowan v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:17cv-4660.

After two years, discovery has finally been completed. Each side will submit briefs asking for summary judgment by May 15, 2019. The Georgia law is so difficult, no third party has managed to comply with the law since it was created in 1943. No independent has complied with it since 1964. The law requires a petition of 5% of the registered voters, which is now typically 20,000 signatures or so.

There is no other ballot access law in any state with a historical record similar to the Georgia U.S. House law. Every other state except Alabama has had minor party or independent candidates for U.S. House on the ballot in either 2018 or 2016 or both years. Alabama last had one in 2014.

New Jersey State Trial Court Enjoins Law Requiring One Man and One Woman for Political Party Committees

Posted on by April 18, 2019
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In New Jersey, voters who are party members elect two members of political party committee members in each precinct. A 1946 law says that parties must elect one man and one woman. On April 16, that law was enjoined for Middlesex County. The case is Central Jersey Progressive Democrats v Flynn, Mer-L-732-19. The lawsuit had been filed April 11. Quick action was needed because these party elections are being held June 4, 2019.

One of the plaintiffs identifies as intersex, and therefore that person was not permitted to be a candidate for party committee.

Most counties in New Jersey ignore the 1946 law, but Middlesex County has always enforced it.