On June 25, the Sixth Circuit upheld Ohio regulations that do not permit anyone running for judge to start to raise campaign funds until four months before the election. The U.S. District Court had also upheld the regulation. Here is the decision in Platt v Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the Ohio Supreme Court, 17-3461.

The plaintiff wanted to run for Court of Common Pleas Judge in Hamilton County in 2014. The filing deadline for candidates was 90 days before the election. He complained that he needed to start early to raise campaign funds, because he didn’t want to file unless he was successful in raising enough campaign contributions. But the rules of the Ohio Supreme Court forbad him from even asking for money until four months before the election. That gave him only 30 days to start raising money, before he had to decide whether to file. His lawsuit emphasized that he is not a judge; he is only someone who was considering whether to run for judge. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Terry Hayes is a strong independent candidate for Governor of Maine. She filed a lawsuit on May 26 in state court, seeking a ruling that her supporters are permitted to hand out campaign literature at the polls on primary day, June 12. The Secretary of State had said such activity is not permitted, but she argued that the restriction on campaign activity at the polls only applies to candidates who are on the primary ballot. She was not on the primary ballot, because independent candidates in Maine, as in 46 other states, have nothing to do with the primary.

At the hearing, the Secretary of State backed away from his earlier stance, and said he didn’t really know whether Hayes supporters could be at the polls or not. So, the judge dismissed the case because it appeared there was nothing to resolve. The case had been Hayes v Dunlap, Kennebec County Superior Court, AP-18-26. Hayes supporters did then appear at the polls around the state on June 12.

On June 22, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed SB 655, which moves the primary for all office from May, to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. In 2020, the primary will be on March 3.

Because the independent candidate petition deadline is 15 days before the primary, this moves that deadline from April to February 16. The old deadline was already too early to be constitutional, and the new deadline is even worse. A lawsuit was already pending against the April deadline, and now the Complaint will need to be amended to challenge the February deadline.

In 1980 a U.S. District Court struck down North Carolina’s old April deadline, in Greaves v North Carolina State Board of Elections. The legislature then moved the deadline to June. But years later, it forgot why it had done that, and moved it to April.