Procedural Victory in Illinois U.S. House Ballot Access Case

Posted on by April 30, 2017
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On April 26, U.S. District Court Judge Sue Myerscough denied the motion of the state of Illinois to dismiss the ballot access case that concerns the 5% petition requirement for independent candidates for U.S. House. The case is Gill v Scholz, c.d., 3:16cv-03221.

The case had been filed in 2016 after independent U.S. House candidate David Gill was kept off the ballot. Judge Myerscough put him on the ballot, believing that the 5% petition requirement, as shown by the historical record, is too difficult. The Seventh Circuit removed Gill from the ballot a few weeks later, but did not write anything about the constitutional issue. The state then went back to Judge Myerscough and said the 7th circuit action proves that the law is constitutional. Judge Myerscough wrote on April 26, “Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss is Denied. This Court previously found that Plaintiffs had established a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits to warrant a preliminary injunction. Although the 7th Circuit stayed enforcement of this Court’s preliminary injunction, the Seventh Circuit did not rule on the merits and ultimately dismissed the appeal as moot after the election. The Seventh Circuit did not vacate this Court’s preliminary injunction order despite Defendants’ request that the court do so. Defendants shall file an answer on or before May 10, 2017.”

Georgia Defends Law that Doesn’t Allow Voters to Register After the First Election for the Purpose of Voting in the Runoff

Posted on by April 30, 2017
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Georgia held a special congressional election in the Sixth District on April 18, but no one got a majority, so there will be a runoff on June 20. Georgia does not allow anyone to register, and have that registration take effect, after March 19. Some voting rights organizations filed a lawsuit on April 20, seeking to permit individuals who weren’t already registered to vote by March 19, to vote in the June runoff. The lawsuit is based on a federal voter registration law which outlaws voter registration deadlines earlier than 30 days before any federal election.

On April 28, the state filed this brief in defense of its law. The U.S. Constitution permits the states to establish voter qualifications, as long as they aren’t discriminatory, and aren’t based on sex or race and don’t set a voting age older than age 18. The state argues that its law, forbidding persons from registering to vote and having that registration take effect in time for a runoff, is a voter qualification.

One of the plaintiffs in the case is a voter who moved into the district a few days after voter registration closed. She couldn’t move into the district until her house sale closed. State law won’t let her vote in the June run-off.

The state also argues that it would be administratively inconvenient to have a different rule for federal office and state office. In some cases, special election ballots happen to have both federal and state office on the ballot. But, this administrative problem is a consequence of the state’s decision to restrict voter registration for runoff elections.

In a Surprise, Oklahoma Legislature Does Pass Bill Easing Independent Presidential Ballot Access

Posted on by April 28, 2017
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On the evening of April 27, the Oklahoma House passed SB 145 unanimously. This is the bill that eases ballot access for independent presidential candidates, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties. The sponsor’s office had told me on April 27, on the phone, that it would not be brought up on April 27, which was the deadline for bills this year. It wasn’t on the day’s agenda. But, after that phone call, the sponsor arranged to have the bill added onto the agenda, a very unusual move for that time of day. The bill had passed the Senate in March.

The bill reduces the number of signatures for president from 3% of the last presidential vote, to 3% of the last gubernatorial vote. More significantly, it lets a candidate on the ballot without a petition, if the candidate pays a filing fee. The amount of that fee equals seven multiplied by the filing fee for presidential primary candidates. Unfortunately the legislature might pass SB 323 soon. That bill raises the presidential primary filing fee from $2,500 to $5,000. If SB 323, as currently worded, becomes law, the general election filing fee for independent presidential candidates will be a staggering $35,000 instead of $17,500.