On June 30, Vinz Koller filed this brief in Koller v Padilla, the lawsuit against the California law that tells presidential electors they must vote for the candidate who received the most popular votes in the state.
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On June 30, Rocky De La Fuente filed this brief in De La Fuente v Padilla, c.d., 2:16cv-3242. This is the case that challenges the 2016 California requirement that independent candidates submit 178,039 signatures. No one has successfully used that petition since 1992, when Ross Perot needed 134,781 signatures.
The De La Fuente case has a status conference on July 6.
Here is a current tally for voter registration in Louisiana, for all parties, qualified and unqualified alike. All the qualified parties increased their share of the registration since November 2016, except for the Democratic Party.
The June 30 percentages for the qualified parties are: Democratic 44.07%; Republican 30.12%; Independent Party 1.94%; Libertarian .48%; Green .09%; Reform .04%; unqualified parties and independents 23.22%.
The percentages just before the November 2016 election were: Democratic 44.49%; Republican 29.73%; Independent Party 1.87%; Libertarian .47%; Green .08%; Reform .04%; unqualified parties and independents 23.28%. Back then, the Independent Party wasn’t ballot-qualified, but it became ballot-qualified early in 2017. The law requires 1,000 registrants plus payment of a fee of $1,000, and no one paid the fee until early in 2017.
The largest unqualified party continues to be the Conservative Party, which had 844 registrants in November 2016 and which now has 839. Thanks to Randall Hayes for the new data.
On June 30, the Rhode Island legislature passed HB 5702. It provides that every adult citizen known by the state government to exist will automatically be registered, unless that individual declines.
A similar bill had already passed the Illinois legislature, and on June 29 was forwarded to the Governor. Both the Rhode Island and Illinois Governors have said they will sign the bills. When they do, ten states will have such automatic voter registration. Thanks to the Brennan Center for the news about Rhode Island.
On June 29, the Delaware Senate Elections & State Affairs passed HB 89. It moves the non-presidential primary from September to April. It had already passed the House.
The version that passed the House does not move the deadline to qualify a new party. But there is a Senate amendment that would move the deadline to create a new party from August to March. Presumably the full Senate will decide which version of the bill to approve.
Delaware is in the Third Circuit, which ruled in a New Jersey case that an April deadline is too early for newly-qualifying parties. Council of Alternative Political Parties v Hooks.