Matthew Olsen and Benjamin Haas have this article at Politico, arguing that if the U.S. used a national popular vote to choose its president, it would be more difficult for hostile forces beyond our borders to manipulate the outcome of our presidential elections. Olsen is a former general counsel to the National Security Agency and a former director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Haas is a former Army intelligence officer.
On September 19, the state of Wisconsin filed its reply brief in Gill v Whitford, 16-1161, the case over whether extreme partisan gerrymandering violates the U.S. Constitution. The hearing will be October 3, 2017. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
On September 19, the Libertarian Party filed this brief in Husted v Ohio A. Philip Randolph Institute, the U.S. Supreme Court case over whether Ohio’s voter purge practices violate federal law. Thanks to Mark Brown for the information. The Court hasn’t set an argument date for this case yet.
Laws Professor Derek Muller here criticizes the Democratic majority in the California legislature, and Governor Jerry Brown, for changing the rules to make recall petitions more difficult to complete, right in the middle of a current recall. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
On September 18, the Seventh Circuit heard arguments in Tripp v Scholz, 16-3469. This is the Green Party case that challenged the petition requirements for state representative in 2014. The U.S. District Court had upheld the requirements. The party argued that the 5%, in combination with the requirement that each sheet be notarized, the fact that there were no population centers in the two particular districts at issue, that only 90 days are permitted, and the signers must state they are themselves organizing the party, together, is unconstitutionally difficult.
Here is a link to the 30-minute oral argument, which seemed to show that the three judges will uphold the requirements. One judge stated flatly that the notarization requirement is not burdensome because a circulator is free to bring in all his or her sheets in a single trip to the notary. She also stated flatly that the notarization requirement is needed to prevent fraud, ignoring all the evidence that the Green Party had presented that it is not necessary to combat fraud.
The judges seemed to believe that Illinois ballot access is not burdensome because primary voters are free to sign a petition for a newly-qualifying party or an independent candidate. But, every state except Texas permits that. That fact was not brought out.
No minor party candidates for the legislature qualified for the Illinois ballot in either 2014 or 2016. The record reveals this for 2014, but even though the judges seem vaguely aware that there are few successful minor party petitions for the legislature in Illinois, they did not seem to know there were none.
The attorney for the state criticized the party because it didn’t start circulating the petition until one-third of the petitioning period was over, but the petitioning period starts in early March, and no reference was made to the winter weather in Illinois, nor the fact that March is remote in time from the general election.
