The South Dakota Secretary of State plans to ask the legislature to make further improvements to ballot access laws for new and minor parties. A new bill is likely to be introduced on January 31. The bill may let newly-qualifying parties, and perhaps all small qualified parties, nominate by convention for all office. It also may lower the number of signatures needed for a petition to get a party on the ballot.
On January 24, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles asked both sides in North Carolina Democratic Party v Berger to submit short briefs discussing the U.S. Supreme Court decision from 2008 concerning Washington state’s top-two system. The order says, “The Court would appreciate short briefs less than 5 pages on whether and how the Supreme Court’s decision in Washington State Grange v Washington State Republican Party, 552 US 442 (2008) should affect the analysis in this case, particularly as to whether the plaintiffs have associational rights that are burdened by Section 4(a).” Such briefs are due January 26, Friday, at noon.
In Washington State Grange v Washington State Republican Party, the U.S. Supreme Court said that it an open question whether a party’s associational rights are harmed when a state prints party labels on the ballot, but those candidates aren’t party nominees. The Supreme Court said more evidence is needed, to learn if ordinary voters would be confused by party labels, into thinking that parties have nominees.
In the North Carolina case, the law says party labels should be on the November ballot for judicial candidates, but because primaries for judicial office have been abolished (for 2018 only), parties won’t have nominees. The forthcoming briefs should be very interesting reading for persons interested in political parties.
Here is a link to listen to the oral argument in Wilmoth v New Jersey, in the Third Circuit on January 23. The issue is New Jersey’s ban on out-of-state circulators for presidential primary petitions. In New Jersey, presidential candidates need 1,000 signatures to get on a presidential primary ballot, and only New Jersey residents can circulate such petitions. The argument is 30 minutes long.
On January 24, U.S. District Court Judge Catherine Eagles heard North Carolina Democratic Party v Berger, m.d., 1:17cv-1113. Here is a news story about the three-hour argument. The issue is whether North Carolina is violating the U.S. Constitution by holding partisan judicial elections, but not giving any means for a party to nominate judicial candidates.
On January 24, the South Dakota House State Affairs Committee passed HB 1012. It makes it easier for a party to stay on the ballot. It amends the vote test to remain on, so that it only needs to be met every four years.
Also, on January 23, the Senate passed SB 79 by 24-10. It lets independent voters sign a primary petition. Current law says only party members can sign such primary petitions.
