Tom Campbell, a former Republican member of the U.S. House from California, and a former Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, wants to start a new centrist party. He and others working on this idea have not chosen a party name, but they are thinking perhaps “Center Party” or “Bear Flag Party.” See this story. The proposed party would be just for California, not the entire nation. Thanks to Politico for the link.
On September 21, the Missouri Court of Appeals reversed a lower state court and said a statewide initiative dealing with campaign finance and redistricting can be on the ballot. The lower court had removed it for violating the single subject rule. See this story.
Slowly, the various states with unresolved disputes about who and what should be on the November ballot are getting finality.
On September 18, the Missouri State Appeals Court ruled that a lower state court was correct when it kept a statewide initiative on the ballot. Bradshaw v Ashcroft, 820-75. The initiative had been challenged by individuals who testified that the circulator was not always present when the initiative had been signed. Copies of the petitions had been posted on bulletin boards, and some voters signed them when no circulator was present. But the Appeals Court said state law does not allow the Secretary of State to invalidate initiative petitions if the petitions on their face appear in good order, and the petition was signed by the required number of registered voters.
The subject of the initiative was medical marijuana. There will now be three initiatives on the ballot on the subject of marijuana.
The Florida Supreme Court will soon decide whether to remove certain statewide ballot measures from the November ballot. These are not initiatives, but are proposals put on the ballot by this year’s Constitution Revision Commission. See this story. A lower court removed three of the measures because the lower court felt they violate the single-subject rule.
On September 20, the Missouri State Appeals Court heard arguments over whether a statewide initiative should be on the ballot. A Lower state court had removed it because of the single subject rule. Here is a newspaper story about the hearing in the State Appeals Court. A decision is expected next week.
