President Trump Erroneously Says Ross Perot Caused President George H. W. Bush to Lose in 1992

Posted on by May 9, 2025
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On May 9, President Donald Trump said that “Ross Perot cost (President Bush) the 1992 election.” See here.

Nothing is more certain than the fact that Perot did not cause President Bush to lose the election. Perot dropped out of the 1992 race on July 17 and didn’t re-enter until October 1, 1992. During that time opinion polls showed Bill Clinton leading Bush. Furthermore, the exit polls asked Perot voters who they would have voted for if Perot had not been running, and the results were a tie between Perot voters who said “Bush” and Perot voters who said “Clinton.”

Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter Dies

Posted on by May 9, 2025
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On May 8, former U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter died. He had written Norman v Reed, the last U.S. Supreme Court opinion that helped ballot access. The 1992 decision interpreted several Illinois ballot access laws in a favorable manner, and was a victory for the Harold Washington Party in its battle to appear on the Cook County ballot for county office. On the other hand, a few months later, Souter voted to uphold Hawaii’s ban on write-in votes.

Maine Legislature Files Brief in U.S. Supreme Court in Defense of Legislative Immunity

Posted on by May 8, 2025
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On May 8, the Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, and the Clerk of the State House, filed this brief in Libby v Fecteau, 24A1051. This case arose when the House disciplined Representative Laurel D. Libby for having posted on social media a picture of a transgender high school student. Her post included the student’s name. The House said that Libby must remove the social media posting and apologize for having posted it, but she refused, so the House ruled that she cannot vote until the end of the session, or until she changes her mind. Libby then sued, but lost in the lower federal courts.

Florida Initiative Proponents File Federal Lawsuit to Overturn New Restrictions on Petitioners

Posted on by May 8, 2025
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On May 4, proponents of one particular Florida initiative filed a federal lawsuit to overturn new restrictions on petitioning for Florida initiatives. Florida Decides Healthcare v Byrd, n.d., 4:25cv-211. The lawsuit was filed only two days after the new restrictions, included in House Bill 1205, had been signed into law. Here is the Complaint. Page 21 and the following pages list the challenged restrictions. The first part of the Complaint as a history of previous attempts by the Florida legislature to make it difficult to qualify initiatives.

Among the challenged restrictions is the ban on out-of-state circulators. The case also challenges the fact that the new law goes into effect in the middle of the initiative drive. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Walker, an Obama appointee.