On August 28, backers of “Promote the Vote” filed a federal lawsuit against the Michigan Secretary of State, arguing that their initiative does have enough valid signatures, and that the Secretary of State wrongfully ruled that it did not have enough valid signatures. Protect the Vote v Johnson, e.d., 2:18cv-12692. Here is the 23-page Complaint. The initiative would legalize early voting in Michigan.
The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Terrence Berg, an Obama appointee.
On August 29, New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, a Democrat, said she will put a straight-ticket device back on New Mexico general election ballots. Her office put out a press release announcing the change. She did not hold any public hearing on the idea.
States that have repealed straight ticket devices in the past fifty years are Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas (effective 2019), and Wisconsin. Michigan repealed its device in 2016, but a U.S. District Court recently struck down the Michigan repeal.
Besides Michigan and New Mexico, the only states that still have straight-ticket devices are Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Utah.
On August 29, the West Virginia Supreme Court heard arguments in Blankenship v Warner, 18-0712. This is the case over whether the Constitution Party is permitted to nominate Don Blankenship for U.S. Senate. All five justices asked questions (some of them are sitting for this case only, because of vacancies on the court). The hearing lasted two hours and ten minutes. It would have been over sooner, but twice a fire alarm interrupted the proceedings and everyone had to leave the courtroom. A decision will probably be released the first week in September.
August 28 was the deadline for New Mexico candidates to withdraw from the November election. Mick Rich, Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, did not withdraw, so the New Mexico U.S. Senate race will be a three-candidate election. On August 28, U.S. Senator Rand Paul had endorsed Gary Johnson, the Libertarian nominee, but that had no effect on Rich.
On August 24, the Washington State Supreme Court unanimously put initiative I-1639 back on the November ballot. It had been removed by a lower state court because the petitions presented the proposal with very small font, and also because the petition presentation of the text did not strike through words that were being deleted, nor did it underline new words that are being added to the law.
The four-page order of the Washington State Supreme Court says the law does not authorize eliminating an initiative from the ballot for such flaws. Ball v Wyman, 96191-3. Thanks to Jim Riley for the link.
