Neal Simon Qualifies for Maryland Ballot as an Independent for U.S. Senate

Posted on by August 11, 2018
11

The Maryland State Board of Elections announced on August 10 that independent candidate Neal Simon has enough valid signatures to be on the ballot for U.S. Senate. The requirement is 10,000 signatures; Simon submitted 17,000. See this story.

Simon is one of the nineteen candidates backed by Unite America (formerly the Centrist Project). He is also the first statewide independent candidate to take advantage of the 2017 liberalization of the ballot access law, which lowered the number of signatures from 1% of the registered voters (approximately 45,000 signatures) to exactly 10,000 signatures. That change was prompted by a lawsuit, Dorsey v Lamone, which received financial support from COFOE (the Coalition for Free & Equal Elections).

D.C. Circuit Sets Oral Argument for En Banc Hearing on Libertarian Bequests Lawsuit

Posted on by August 11, 2018
3

On August 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, said it will hear Libertarian National Committee v Federal Election Commission, 18-5227, on Friday, November 30, at 9:30 a.m. All eleven full-time U.S. Court of Appeals judges will participate.

This is the case over whether the Constitution protects the ability of a political party to receive an unlimited donation if the donor is deceased and had not told the party before he or she died that the bequest had been made.

The Libertarian brief is due September 12; the government’s brief is due October 12; the reply brief is due October 26.

Additional Votes Counted in Washington U.S. House Race, 2nd District: Libertarian Now Holds a Narrow Lead for Second

Posted on by August 10, 2018
21

As Washington election officials continue to tally more votes from the August 7 primary for U.S. House, 2nd district, the identity of the second-place finisher has changed twice. Votes posted on Friday, August 10, now show the Libertarian Party candidate, Brian Luke, in second place. Whoever places second will appear on the November ballot under the top-two system.

Here are the results as of the end of the day, August 10. Luke has 11,738; independent Gary Franco has 11,664; a Democrat has 11,602; and the Republican, Mike the Mover, has 11,249.

If Luke does eventually take second, that will be the first time that any minor party candidate has ever placed first or second in a top-two election, when there was also a Republican and a Democrat in the same race. It will also be the first time that a minor party candidate for U.S. House has appeared on the November ballot in Washington, since the state started using top-two in 2008.

U.S. District Court in Massachusetts Hears Case Against Electing All of a State’s Presidential Electors At-Large

Posted on by August 10, 2018
20

On August 9, a U.S. District Court in Massachusetts heard Lyman v Baker, 1:18cv-10327. This is one of the four cases around the country that challenges the constitutionality of a state law, requiring that state’s presidential electors to be elected at-large. See this story.

A similar case was argued in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles last month. David Boies argued both times. He is famous for having been Al Gore’s attorney in 2000 in Bush v Gore.

North Dakota Secretary of State Submits Petition to be an Independent Candidate for Re-Election

Posted on by August 10, 2018
2

On August 9, North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger submitted 1,300 signatures to appear on the ballot as an independent candidate. He is running for re-election as an independent because he had decided not to seek the Republican nomination. But then the individual who did win the Republican nomination withdrew, so there will be no Republican on the ballot.

The law requires 1,000 signatures. See this story.