The Pennsylvania Senate State Government will hold a hearing on SB 495 on Tuesday, September 22, at 9 am. This is the bill that eases ballot access for minor parties and independent candidates. The author of the bill, Senator Mike Folmer, is also chair of the Committee.
Fox News has scheduled two Republican presidential debates for August 6. The top ten debate each other in the evening. Others debate each other at 5 pm on the same day. Until July 29, the second-tier debaters had to be at 1% or more in national polls. Now the 1% poll requirement has been waived. This helps former New York Governor George Pataki, U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, and Carly Fiorina. See this story.
The 2nd tier debate is still limited to candidates whom pollsters include, so effectively entry into the 2nd tier debate has now been turned over to the discretion of polling companies. That is not an objective standard, and anyone who is excluded has grounds for a lawsuit.
Don Zimmerman, a member of the Austin, Texas city council, recently filed a federal lawsuit against city campaign finance rules. He challenges the $350 limit on individual contributions to candidates for city council, and the law that says candidates can’t raise or spend campaign funds except during the period six months before the election. The next Austin election is November 2016. Here is his brief. The case is Zimmerman v City of Austin, w.d., 1:15cv-628. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
The Times Record of Fort Smith, Arkansas, has this commentary about the oral argument in Moore v Martin. That argument, held on July 27, concerns the federal lawsuit on early petition deadlines for non-presidential independent candidates.
Phil Huckelberry has this article in Gapers Block, advocating that Illinois depend on candidate filing fees instead of petitions, for ballot access. Gapers Block is a well-read on-line Chicago newspaper about government and politics.
