On August 26, the South Dakota Constitution Party filed this reply brief, in its lawsuit over whether its nominees for U.S. Senate and state house should be on the ballot. Unless relief is granted, South Dakota won’t have any minor party candidates on the ballot in November for any office except president.
According to this story, on August 25, Evan McMullin’s campaign strategist, Rick Wilson, said McMullin will challenge bad ballot access laws in court. This seems peculiar, because no McMullin lawsuits have been filed. McMullin announced on August 8. A good reporter would have asked Wilson why no cases have been filed.
On August 26, attorneys for the Illinois State Board of Elections appealed the August 25 decision in Gill v Scholz. This is the case over the requirement that independent candidates for U.S. House submit a petition equal to 5% of the last vote cast, for U.S. House. In the 7th circuit, the case is 16-3279.
Also on August 26, the state asked the U.S. District Court Judge to stay her own order that put David Gill on the ballot, but later in the same say she refused.
The Virginia deadline for independent presidential petitions, and the presidential nominees of unqualified parties, is August 26. The state received four petitions that may have enough valid signatures: for Rocky De La Fuente, Gary Johnson, Evan McMullin, and Jill Stein. Because most of the Johnson signatures were turned in early, the state has already determined that Johnson petition is valid. The state is still working on checking the Stein, McMullin, and De La Fuente petitions.
The Constitution Party submitted a petition, but it has already been held not to have enough valid signatures, because the number of signatures was below 5,000, and the requirement is 5,000. The Independent Green Party turned in a petition for Gail Parker, but it only has 4,312 signatures, so it is not valid.
Since November 1997, the only ballot-qualified parties in Virginia have been the Democratic and Republican Parties.
On the afternoon of Friday, August 26, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Cohen heard oral arguments in De La Fuente v Kemp, n.d., 1:16cv-2937. The issue is the Georgia law that requires independent presidential candidates to notify the state of the names of their presidential elector candidates by July 1, even though the petition is not due until July 12 and even though the names of the electors are on the petition. Furthermore, Georgia doesn’t print the names of presidential elector candidates on the November ballot.
The hearing seemed to go well for De La Fuente. A decision is expected early next week.
