On August 13, the Michigan Secretary of State filed a notice of appeal to the Sixth Circuit in A. Philip Randolph Institute v Johnson. This is the lawsuit in which the U.S. District Court ruled recently that Michigan cannot repeal its straight-ticket device, because eliminating the straight-ticket device injures African-American voters.
The legislature repealed the device in 2016, but the bill has not been implemented yet because of the lawsuit.
On August 13, a state court in North Carolina struck down the law concerning partisan labels for judicial candidates. See this story. The story does not say if the law was struck down on due process grounds (because it was created after candidates had already filed for office), or on the substance of the law itself. Check back here for more details soon. UPDATE: here is the eleven-page Order. It is based not only on due process, but freedom of association. It says, “If a law gives some candidates for a specific race a party identifier, but not other candidates for the same race, that law imposes a burden on the associational rights of the candidates left unidentified…The burden on Plaintiff’s rights is also severe because it affects Plaintiff’s rights ‘at the most crucial stage in the election process, the instant before the vote is cast.’ Cook v Gralike, 531 U.S. 510, 525 (2001).”
There were technically two cases, one filed by Chris Anglin who is running for State Supreme Court, and one filed by Rebecca Edwards who is running for Superior Court. Anglin v State Board of Elections, Wake County, 18cvs-9748; and Edwards v State Board, 18cvs-9749.
Chris Collins, the Republican congressman for New York’s 27th U.S. House district, was renominated at the June 2018 primary. But he has since decided not to run for re-election. The New York Republican Party will attempt to replace him. See this story.
On August 11, Evan McMullin spoke at the Iowa State Fair, at the “Political Soapbox.” See this story. He said he will run for some public office in the future. McMullin was an independent candidate for president in 2016, and polled 731,733 votes even though he was only on the ballot in eleven states.
The Intercept has this excellent article about Democrats who complain about the Green Party running candidates in close elections, and yet who refuse to support any efforts for the cure. It focuses on the August 7 special congressional election this year in Ohio, and also the 2016 presidential election. The Intercept is an on-line news source established in 2014. The piece is by Briahna Gray, Senior Politics Editor of The Intercept, and reporter Zaid Jilani. Thanks to Rob Richie for the link.
