Mississippi Voter-Plaintiffs File Brief in Case Challenging How Governor is Elected

Posted on by August 20, 2019
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Mississippi’s Constitution says that no one can be elected Governor without both receiving the greatest number of votes, and carrying a majority of state house districts. A lawsuit is currently pending in U.S. District Court to overturn that law. On August 19, the voter-plaintiffs who filed the case filed this 40-page brief. The case is McLemore v Hosemann, s.d., 3:19cv-383.

The Mississippi Constitution says that if no candidate both gets the most popular votes and also carries a majority of the state house districts, then the legislature chooses the Governor.

Tenth Circuit Upholds Colorado Distribution Requirement for Initiative Petitions

Posted on by August 20, 2019
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Colorado requires statewide initiatives to obtain the signatures of 2% of the number of registered voters in each of the 35 State Senate districts. On August 21, the Tenth Circuit upheld that requirement. Semple v Griswold, 18-1123. Here is the decision.

The U.S. District Court had invalidated the law because it felt that “one person, one vote” principles require that the base should be the number of inhabitants. But the Tenth Circuit said that “one person, one vote” is not necessarily attached to the use of either population, or the number of registered voters; either is permitted.

The vote was 2-1. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

President Trump Files Amended Complaint in his Case to Stop Release of his State Income Tax Return

Posted on by August 20, 2019
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On August 19, President Trump filed this amended complaint in his lawsuit designed to prevent New York state from sending copies of his state income tax return to the Chair of the U.S. House Ways & Means Committee. The new Complaint includes Congressman Neal as a Defendant, and provides additional reasons why Trump was correct to file his lawsuit in Washington, D.C., instead of New York.

Ohio Supreme Court Likely to Hear Independent Candidate Ballot Access Case

Posted on by August 20, 2019
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Randy Law, a former Ohio Republican state representative, is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to put him on the ballot as an independent candidate for Mayor of Warren, Ohio. See this story. The county Board of Elections kept him off the ballot, even though he has enough valid signatures, because he was in the past a member of the Trumbull County Republican Committee. However, he resigned from that committee in April 2019.

The Ohio law on who can become an independent candidate is very vague, which frequently leads to lawsuits similar to this one. Section 3501.01 says an “Independent candidate” is a candidate “who claims not to be affiliated with a political party.” Ohio voter registration forms do not ask the applicant about partisan affiliation, so there is no clear method to administer this requirement.