The same ballot access improvement bill that was introduced in the Tennessee House last week is also now introduced in the Senate. The Senate bill is SB 770, sponsored by Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet). Both bills lower the number of signatures for a new party from 2.5% of the last gubernatorial vote, to exactly 5,000 signatures.
Law Professor Rick Hasen writes here at his Election Law Blog that Judge Neil Gorsuch, President Trump’s nominee for U.S. Supreme Court, wrote an opinion in 2012 that suggests he is not favorable to ballot access or to minor parties. The case was Hassan v State of Colorado and Secretary of State Scott Gessler, 12-1190 (September 4, 2012).
Abdul Hassan was born in Guyana, but he wanted to run for President in 2012. He admitted he is not a natural born citizen (he is naturalized) but he filed six federal lawsuits against the federal government or against state election officials, saying the “natural born” clause has been implicitly repealed by new U.S. Constitutional amendments. He said he was seeking the Democratic nomination, but in two states without presidential primaries, Colorado and Iowa, he also sued to be allowed to be an independent candidate.
Judge Gorsuch ruled against him, writing the Constitution permits states to bar candidates from the ballot if it is uncontested that they do not meet the constitutional qualifications for the office. In the same opinion, Gorsuch also ruled that the natural born clause is still a valid part of the Constitution.
Gorsuch’s statement that states are permitted to bar candidates from the ballot if it is clear to everyone that they do not meet the constitutional qualifications is entirely unremarkable. No federal or state court has ever ruled any differently. Although some states have sometimes printed the names of constitutionally ineligible candidates on ballots, no court has ever forced any state to do that.
Abdul Hassan failed to persuade a single judge to rule in his favor. He was in front of six U.S. District Court judges, and these eighteen U.S. Court of Appeals Judges: D.C. Circuit Karen Henderson, Thomas Griffht, Brett Kavanaugh; First Circuit Sandra Lynch, Kermit Lipez, O. Rogeriee Thompson; Second Circuit Jon O. Newman, Joseph McLaughlin, Debra Ann Livingston; Eighth Circuit Diana E. Murphy, Morris S. Arnold, Lavenski Smith; Ninth Circuit Edward Leavy, Sidney Thomas, Mary H. Murguia; and Tenth Circuit Gorsuch, Wade Brorby, and Jerome Holmes. Some of those judges didn’t even think Hassan had standing.
Hassan appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court also, but that court refused to hear his appeal. Hassan v Colorado, 12-1187.
On February 17, the Maine House & Senate Elections Committees heard LD 295, which says that a party can remain on the ballot if it polls 5% for president or governor. Current law only allows a party to remain on the ballot if it has 10,000 registered members who actually turn out and vote in a general election (it doesn’t matter whom they vote for).
The committee did not vote, but the reaction was good, and one committee member suggested 5% is too high. In response, the Secretary of State’s representative said that another bill is about to be introduced, which also allows a party to remain on the ballot if it has at least 5,000 registered members. She suggested the committee might want to hold up action on LD 295 until it also considers that new bill. A representative of the Libertarian Party also testified. No one testified against the bill.
On February 15, the Colorado Senate State, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee tabled SB 17-99 by a vote of 3-2. This is the national popular vote plan bill. The vote was party-line: all three Republican voted against the bill, and both Democrats voted for it.
On February 16, the Arizona House Government committee passed HB 2404, which severely restricts paid initiative circulators. It would require sponsors of initiatives to post a $50,000 bond, if the sponsors are using paid circulators. It would require circulators to register and pay a fee. The bill does not set the fee, but says the Secretary of State would set it. Paid circulators would need to provide a copy of a criminal background check, and take a training class. It would be illegal for circulators to be paid on a per-signature basis.
Laws to outlaw paying on a per signature basis have been struck down in Ohio and Colorado. Also it is likely that requiring a circulator to pay a registration fee violates the First Amendment.
The vote in committee was 5-3. The sponsor is Representative Vincent Leach (R-SaddleBrooke).
