The Eighth Circuit will hear Moore v Martin, 15-3558, on Wednesday, December 14, at 9 a.m., in St. Louis. This is the case challenging the petition deadline for non-presidential candidates in Arkansas. The case was filed in 2014 by an independent candidate for Lieutenant Governor, to overturn the petition deadline of March 3, 2014. The 2013 legislature had moved that deadline from May 1 to March 3.
The U.S. District Court in this case had upheld the March deadline, despite the fact that in 1974 and again in 1976, 3-judge U.S. District Courts had struck down the Arkansas former April independent petition deadline. The 1976 decision had been affirmed in 1977 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The U.S. District Court in this case said the earlier precedents don’t control because the petition hurdle back in the 1970’s was 3% of the last vote cast, whereas in 2014 it was l0,000 signatures, which is a lower number of signatures than in the 1970’s. So, the candidate-piaintiff appealed to the 8th circuit. He argues that March petition deadlines for independent candidates are always unconstitutional, whether the number of signatures is a high number or a lower number. He points out that when the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Ohio’s March petition deadline in Anderson v Celebrezze, the petition requirement was 5,000 signatures, which was only one-tenth of 1% of the Ohio vote at that time.
