On September 12, Rhode Island held primaries. The three ballot-qualified parties are Democratic, Republican, and Moderate. But because there were no primary contests in the Moderate Party, the state did not print primary ballots for it. Its nominee for Governor, William H. Gilbert, must poll 5% of the vote in the general election, or the party will cease to be ballot-qualified.
On September 12, U.S. District Court Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, an Obama appointee, upheld the Texas policy of electing its State Supreme Court Justices, and its State Criminal Appeals Court Judges, in at-large partisan elections. Lopez v Abbott, s.d., 2:16v-303. Here is the 43-page opinion.
On September 12, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Totenberg heard witnesses in Curling v Kemp, n.d., 1:17cv-2989. This is the case over Georgia’s vote-counting machines, which don’t leave a paper trail. The judge said she would rule on Friday, September 14, or Monday, September 17, on whether the machines can be used one more time, in November 2018. See this story.
On September 12, the Eighth Circuit issued a 7-page opinion in Abdurrahman v Dayton, 16-4551. This is the case in which a Minnesota Democratic presidential elector challenged the law that said he was unseated as an elector when he refused to vote for Hillary Clinton in the electoral college. The Court said he should have filed his lawsuit in November 2016, but because he didn’t file until December 19, 2016, his case is moot. The oral argument had been six months ago; it is peculiar that it took so long for such a simple outcome. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.
Two similar cases on this issue are still alive. They are from Colorado and Washington.
The New Mexico Supreme Court heard oral argument on Wednesday, September 12, on whether the Secretary of State can unilaterally put a straight-ticket device on November 2018 ballots, even though there is nothing in the law authorizing or even mentioning the device. After the hearing had been over for one and one half hours, the court announced that it does not believe the Secretary of State has the authority to put a straight-ticket device on the ballot. The vote was 5-0. The Court will explain its reasoning shortly. Here is the order. UPDATE: see this article, which has a description of the questions the justices asked.
