New York State Senator Liz Krueger (D-Manhattan) has introduced SB 5615. It would allow voters to switch parties, and thereby vote in their new party’s primary, if the change was made at least 90 days before that primary. Even that is a strict requirement, but the current law forces voters to switch parties in the year before the election year. Thanks to Michael Drucker for this news.
On January 29, the Republican members from Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let them file an amicus curiae brief in the partisan gerrymandering case. The members want the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a stay of the State Supreme Court’s order that requires a quick redrawing of the U.S. House district boundaries. The amicus will be paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee. The other side in this case has not consented to the filing of this amicus brief, so it is up to the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether to allow the filing.
The Pennsylvania Republican Party also is filing this amicus brief.
The Libertarian Party national web page has this list of 2018 candidates, which is not yet complete and which will be updated.
The Secretaries of State of Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and South Carolina have filed this amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in the Pennsylvania U.S. House lawsuit over partisan gerrymandering. This is the case in which the Pennsylvania Supreme Court invalidated the U.S. House district boundaries based on the Pennsylvania constitution. The Secretaries of State of these other six states want the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the decision of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
The Secretary of State of South Carolina, Mark Hammond, who signed this brief, is not even responsible for election administration in his state. In South Carolina the State Election Commission handles elections.
U.S. Supreme Court rules require that amicus briefs disclose who paid for the filing. This brief reveals that units of the Republican Party paid for it.
On January 23, a U.S. District Court in Philadelphia issued a 79-page ruling in Acosta v Democratic City Committee (formerly known as Little v Vasquez), e.d., 2:17cv-1462. This lawsuit was filed last year after serious irregularities in the special state house special election in the 197th district came to light. This is the special election in which the only candidate listed on the ballot was the Republican nominee, but the Democratic Party and the Green Party both had strong write-in campaigns. The Democratic write-in candidate won, but his opponents filed a lawsuit alleging that polling place officials actively worked to discourage any votes to be cast unless they were for the Democratic nominee.
The decision keeps the case alive, and clears away many procedural obstacles, but it requires the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint, and finds that they should not sue any state officials.
