Chris Graveline Wins Ballot Access Case in Sixth Circuit

Posted on by September 6, 2018
4

On September 6, the Sixth Circuit issued this opinion in Graveline v Johnson, 18-1992. By a vote of 2-1, it says the U.S. District Court was correct to put independent candidate Chris Graveline on the Michigan ballot. He is running for Attorney General.

The issue is the requirement that a statewide independent candidate obtain 30,000 signatures, and submit them in mid-July, approximately six weeks before the qualified parties are required to choose their nominees for Attorney General. The law has not yet been declared unconstitutional, but the courts have determined that it is probably unconstitutional, and that Graveline should be on the ballot pending the final resolution of the case.

The Sixth Circuit opinion is by Judge Karen Nelson Moore, a Clinton appointee. It is also signed by Judge Ronald Lee Gilman, also a Clinton appointee. The dissent is by Judge Richard Allen Griffin, a Bush Jr. appointee. Griffin also dissented in 2006 in Libertarian Party of Ohio v Blackwell. Griffin said in that case that a petition deadline more than a year before the election, for new parties, is constitutional. UPDATE: here is a news story.

Virginia Has No Independent Candidates for Congress on the Ballot, for the First Time Since 1942

Posted on by September 6, 2018
2

Virginia has traditionally been a stronghold for independent candidates for Congress. Virginia elected an independent, Harry F. Byrd, Jr., to the U.S. Senate in 1970 and 1976. Virginia elected independent candidate Virgil Goode to the U.S. House in 2000. And for many decades, Virginia has always had independent candidates for Congress on the ballot.

But in 2018, there are no independent candidates on the Virginia ballot for either House of Congress. There are three Libertarians on, in districts Four, Seven, and Eleven, as well as for U.S. Senate. No other third party has any candidates on.

Virginia ballot access for independent candidates was extremely easy between the beginning of government-printed ballots in 1894, through 1969. No independent for any office other than president ever needed more than 250 signatures. In 1970 that was raised to one-half of 1% of the number of registered voters, but in 1998 it was lowered to 10,000 signatures for U.S. Senate, and 1,000 for U.S. House.

An independent in 2018, Shaun Brown, was going to be on the ballot in the Second district, but on September 5 she was removed because a court determined that many of her signatures were forged. The State Board of Elections had approved her petition, but then the Democratic Party sued the Board and persuaded the judge that many signatures were forgeries. Also the petition was invalid because the candidate had listed her address differently on different pages. The case was Democratic Party of Virginia v Piper, in Richmond circuit court, CL18004061. Here is the Complaint. Thanks to Daniel Sachs for that link.

Florida Still Doesn’t Know Which State Ballot Questions will be on November Ballot

Posted on by September 6, 2018
2

According to this story, Florida state courts are still in the process of deciding which statewide ballot measures will be on the ballot. Some of the proposals are being challenged because they seem to contain multiple unrelated subjects. All were put on the ballot by the Constitution Revision Commission; these are not initiatives.

U.S. District Court Hears Florida Case Over Whether More Counties Need Ballots Printed in Spanish as well as English

Posted on by September 6, 2018
11

On September 5, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Walker heard Rivera Madera v Detzner, n.d., 1:18cv-152. Some counties in Florida already provide ballots in both English and Spanish, but this lawsuit argues that many more counties must do that as well, under federal law. According to this story, the ruling is likely to give both sides something but not everything. The case was filed on August 16, 2018, and it seems likely full relief will not be forthcoming because the case was filed too close to the election.