In These Times has this detailed story about how badly vote-by-mail worked in 2014 in San Juan County, Utah, for the parts of the county that are in the Navajo Reservation.
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Florence Sebern, a Republican Party activist in Colorado, has this article in The Colorado Statesman, arguing that presidential caucuses are superior to presidential primaries. Colorado’s legislature this year considered switching to a presidential primary, but did not pass the bill that would have made the change. The Colorado Statesman is a weekly newspaper in Denver covering politics.
This Los Angeles Times editorial applauds the U.S. District Court decision of August 11, striking down a New Hampshire law that criminalizes the act of photographing one’s own voted ballot and then showing it to anyone at all. The decision is Rideout v Gardner. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
On August 11, attorneys for the state of South Dakota filed a brief in Libertarian Party of South Dakota v Krebs, 4:15-cv-4111. The lawsuit was filed by the Libertarian and Constitution Parties on June 15, 2015, against the March petition deadline for a newly-qualifying party. The state’s brief says the Libertarian and Constitution Parties haven’t been injured by the deadline (so far, at least) and therefore they don’t have standing.
Three times, the U.S. Supreme Court has found that minor party or independent candidates do have standing to challenge restrictive ballot access laws whether they have tried to petition or not. Many lower courts have issued similar opinions, including the Eighth Circuit itself. South Dakota is in the Eighth Circuit. The South Dakota government brief does not mention any election law cases, just cases involving standing in other areas of law.
On August 10, Damon J. Baldone filed a lawsuit in state court, to force local election officials to accept his voter registration card that shows he is a Republican and a Democrat. Baldone is an attorney and is representing himself. The case is Baldone v Terrebonne Parish Registrar of Voters, 32nd judicial district court 175157.
Baldone hopes to run for the legislature again this year. If he were permitted to register into both parties, then he would be on the ballot as “Democrat, Republican.” The election is October 2015. Here is his Petition for a Writ of Mandamus.
Whether an individual can be a member of two political parties is an interesting philosophical question which has been very little litigated or discussed. It is somewhat similar to the question of whether an individual can be a member of two different churches.