North Carolina Legislature Mulling over Moving Non-Presidential Primary from May to March

According to this story, the North Carolina legislature is considering moving the May primary for non-presidential office to March. However, the story does not mention that it is possible the state’s legislative districts will be invalidated by the State Supreme Court soon, and it would take time to draw new districts.

Because the legislature is re-thinking so much about election law, possibly there will be room for ballot access activists to remind the legislature that North Carolina requires support from more people than any other state, for a statewide independent or minor party to get on the ballot (when the easier method in each state is compared).

Ohio Libertarian Party Wins Procedural Victory

On September 2, a U.S. District Court granted the Ohio Libertarian Party’s request for a new deposition of Gregory Felsoci, the individual who challenged the Libertarian primary gubernatorial petition last year. Felsoci had been deposed some time ago, but since then new facts came out about who paid the $592,000 in attorneys fees for the challenger.

The new deposition will be held on or before September 17. Here is the brief the Ohio Libertarian Party had filed recently, explaining why the deposition is needed.

Ninth Circuit Remands Case Back to U.S. District Court on Whether Montana Contribution Limits are Too Low

On September 1, the Ninth Circuit issued an amended decision in Lair v Bullock, 12-35809. The issue is whether Montana’s campaign contribution limits are too low. They are $500 to joint tickets running for Governor and Lieutenant Governor; $250 for other statewide state offices; and $130 for legislature and all other state offices. The Ninth Circuit wants the U.S. District Court to determine if there is adequate evidence that these relatively low limits are needed for an important state interest, and whether the evidence shows that these limits are too low to enable a typical candidate to amass sufficient resources to wage an effective campaign. Thanks to Mike Fellows for the news.