On August 28, a federal lawsuit was filed against an Ohio law that lets election officials decide for themselves whether to put an initiative on the ballot. Ohio law lets election administrators reject initiatives, even if they have enough valid signatures, based on the officials’ belief that the proposed initiative would or would not be constitutional.

This particular lawsuit was filed on behalf of the proponents of a local initiative to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana. Schmitt v Husted, s.d., 2:18cv-966. The initiative was rejected by the Portage County Election Board even though it had enough valid signatures, because the Board did not feel the subject matter is proper for an initiative. A hearing will be held September 17, and the judge promised a decision quickly, in time for the election. Here is the Complaint.

On August 31, a Missouri trial court ruled that a statewide initiative should be on the ballot, even though opponents of that initiative charged that many of the signatures were obtained without a circulator present at the time. Some of the sheets were fastened to bulletin boards so that passers-by could sign, even though no circulator was physically present. The judge ruled that the Missouri Supreme Court ruled in 1978 that initiatives cannot be disqualified on that basis; if the petition was signed by the required number of registered voters, it should be on the ballot. See this story. The case is Bradshaw v Ashcroft, Cole Co., 18AC-cc320. Thanks to Ken Bush for the link.

On August 30, the Michigan Secretary of State asked the Sixth Circuit to stay the U.S. District Court’s order that puts the straight-ticket device on the ballot for the November 2018 election. Here is the brief. The case number is 18-1910.

The state legislature had repealed the device in 2016, but it has continued to appear on general election ballots because U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin Drain believes that removing the device injures African-American voters.

In 2016, the state had also asked the Sixth Circuit for a stay, and the Sixth Circuit had not granted a stay. However, in 2016, its order hinted that the Sixth Circuit judges weren’t really persuaded that the existence of the straight-ticket device violates the U.S. Constitution.