On December 6, the Florida Secretary of State filed a brief in Hand v Scott, 18-11388, in the Eleventh Circuit.  This is the case on whether Florida’s procedures for restoring voting rights for ex-felons are arbitrary and therefore violate due process.  The voters of Florida passed an initiative last month to restore voting rights for most ex-felons.  The Eleventh Circuit had asked each side if the case is therefore moot, and this latest brief was filed per that request. 

The Florida government brief admits that two of the plaintiff voters have not yet paid all court costs and fees that they are required to have paid if they want their voting rights restored.  Therefore, unless that changes, they still can’t register to vote.  Therefore, the case, as to them, appears not to be moot. 

David Krupa is a candidate for Alderman, 13th ward, in the February 2019 Chicago non-partisan election.  He needed 473 signatures to get on the ballot, and he submitted 1,703 signatures.  But then individuals who do not want him on the ballot submitted 2,700 affidavits of people who claim they had signed for Krupa and they now wish to revoke their signatures.  See this Chicago Tribune story.  Only 187 people who signed a revocation had actually signed Krupa’s petition, which means the other 2,513 individuals who said they had signed for Krupa were not telling the truth.  Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.  Krupa is 19 years old.

Arthur R. Jones, Republican nominee for U.S. House, Illinois 3rd district, polled 25.9% of the vote last month.  The same district did not have any Republican nominee in 2016.  In 2014, the same district cast 35.4% of its vote for the Republican nominee; in 2012, 31.5%.

Three write-in candidates filed for the November 2018 election, but together they received only 1.1% of the vote.

Jones got a lot of publicity for winning the Republican primary unopposed in March 2018, because he denies the existence of the Holocaust.