On April 24, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Katelly, a Clinton appointee, issued a 120-page order in League of United Latin American Citizens v Executive Office of the President, 1:25cv-946. It says that the President does not have the power to alter the federal voter registration form. In March President Trump had issued an executive order that applicants who use the form must attach documents that prove U.S. citizenship.
On April 14, the Connecticut Joint Committee on Government Administration & Elections passed SB 1156. This is the bill requested by the Independent Party to ease some of the paperwork for getting party nominees on the ballot. For a party that polled at least 1% for a statewide office in the last election, but which does not have qualified status for a particular U.S. House or legislative district, petitioning can commence without the need for a cumbersome declaration that the party has a committee in that district that has approved the party label.
On March 25, President Donald Trump issued an Executive Order that the federal voter registration form should be altered to provide that applicants must attach proof of citizenship. On April 3, nineteen states filed a federal lawsuit to overturn the Executive Order, on the grounds that the President has no authority to alter the form. State of California v Trump, U.S. District Court of Massachusetts, 1:25cv-10810. The case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper, an Obama appointee. Here is the Complaint.
A U.S. District Court in San Francisco will hear Peace & Freedom Party v Weber on Friday, August 22. This is the California minor party lawsuit against the top-two system.
On April 22, the Fourth Circuit issued an order in Griffin v North Carolina State Board of Elections, 25-1397, the case over the disputed election of November 2024 for Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. By a vote of 2-1, the majority stayed the process of asking overseas voters from furnishing copies of their photo ID. The order is by Judge Paul V. Niemeyer, a Bush Sr. appointee, and is also signed by Judge Toby J. Heytens, a Biden appointee. Judge A. Marvin Quattlebaum, a Trump appointee, dissented, although he said he is expressing no opinion about the ultimate merits of the case.
