On April 26, the Eighth Circuit issued an opinion in Moore v Martin, 15-3558. The issue is the March petition deadline for non-presidential independent candidates. The U.S. District Court had upheld that deadline. The Eighth Circuit says that more facts are needed to settle the case, and sends it back to the U.S. District Court.

The independent petition deadline had been in May, until 2013, when it was moved to March.

The state had argued that it needs a March petition deadline for independent candidates, because it must check initiative petitions later in the year and it must get the independent candidate petitions checked early so as to give itself lots of time to check initiative petitions. Initiative petitions are due in July. Therefore, on remand, the court is supposed to learn “What periods of time, between the former May 1 deadline for independent candidate petitions and the early July deadline for initiative petitions, were available for the state to process independent candidate petitions.” Also, the lower court must now establish “when independent candidate petitions were in fact processed in the past” and learn “the amount of time required to process independent candidate petitions” and “the feasibility of temporarily hiring additional election workers.”

If the facts show that the state can manage to check the independent petitions without the need for a March 1 deadline, then that March 1 deadline will be unconstitutional.

The decision is 2-1. The dissenting judge argued that it is already obvious that the state can check independent candidate petitions even without a March 1 deadline. The majority decision is by Judge Roger Wollman, a Reagan appointee, and is signed by Judge Duane Benton, a Bush Jr. appointee. The dissent is by Judge Lavenski Smith, a Bush Jr. appointee.

Currently Delaware permits new parties to get on the ballot as late as August of election years. In Delaware, only the Democratic and Republican Parties nominate by primary; all other parties nominate by convention. Last month the Delaware House passed HB 89, moving the Delaware primary for all office from September to April, but the bill did not alter the deadline for newly-qualifying parties to get on the ballot or otherwise affect minor parties.

However, on April 25, Delaware Senator Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington), the Senate Majority Leader, filed an amendment to the bill. It would force newly-qualifying parties to qualify by March, and require all minor parties to choose their non-presidential nominees no later than April. The amendment has not received a vote.

The Utah Republican Party continues to fight the Utah law that forces the party to allow candidates into its primary who have little or no support at party meetings. The law allows candidates to petition onto the primary ballot, but the party doesn’t want such candidates unless they had substantial support at party endorsement meetings.

On April 20, the Utah Republican Party filed its reply brief. The state had filed its brief, in support of the law, on March 20. The case is Utah Republican Party v Cox, 16-4091. One of the odd things about the Republican Party’s briefs is that, even though the party doesn’t want anyone to be able to petition onto the Republican Party primary ballot, the party also argues that the petition requirements set forth in the state law are so difficult that they are unconstitutional.