Plaintiffs in Pennsylvania Presidential Primary Ballot Access Case Ask for Injunctive Relief

Posted on by January 19, 2016
Reply

On January 19, the plaintiffs in Benezet Consulting v Cortes asked for injunctive relief. The issues in the case are three Pennsylvania ballot access restrictions for primary petitions: (1) the ban on out-of-state circulators; (2) the requirement that each petition sheet be notarized; (3) the ban on a voter signing two different petitions for the same office.

Primary petitioning in Pennsylvania starts on January 26 and ends on February 16, so the judge is likely to act on the request quickly. The same three restrictions were struck down as applied to general election petitions last year, and the state didn’t appeal that decision. The new case tries to get the same relief for primary petitions. The plaintiffs include a professional petitioning company.

Although the primary case was originally assigned to Judge John Jones, it has been re-assigned to Judge Yvette Kane, a Clinton appointee.

Virginia Bill for Registration by Party

Posted on by January 19, 2016
5

Two Virginia legislators have introduced HB 806, to provide that the voter registration form ask applicants to choose a party, or to choose independent status. The authors are L. Scott Lingamfelter (R-Woodbridge) and R. Steven Landers (R-Verona).

The bill is deficient, because it says that independents cannot vote in party primaries. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1986 in Tashjian v Republican Party of Connecticut that each party with a primary has the right to decide for itself whether to let independents vote in its primary. The bill should acknowledge this, and should set out procedures for parties to notify the State Board of Elections whether they wish independents to vote in their primaries or not.

The bill is also deficient because it doesn’t permit applicants to register into an unqualified party. This is especially important in Virginia, because Virginia’s definition of “political party” is so strict that only the Democratic and Republican Parties have been qualified for the last 18 years. The only other states for which that is true are Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. Thanks to Bill Redpath for the news about the bill.

Robert Kuttner, Prominent Writer, Says “Get Ready for a 3-Way Race”

Posted on by January 19, 2016
1

Robert Kuttner, a well-known writer and editor, has “Get Ready for a Three-Way Race” in The American Prospect, where he is a co-editor. The title refers to the presidential general election.

One can find fault with the article. John Anderson in 1980 received 6.61% of the general election vote, not 6.3%. Kuttner seems to think that a general election presidential candidate who polls less than 2% of the vote doesn’t even exist. Also, he refers to Ralph Nader in 2000 as an independent candidate, but that year he was the Green Party nominee.

Secret Service Says Only One Cleveland Hotel Suite is Fit to Protect Republican Presidential Nominee

Posted on by January 19, 2016
Reply

According to this story, the U.S. Secret Service says the only hotel near the 2016 Republican national convention that is secure enough to house the presumptive Republican presidential nominee is the Inter Continental Hotel, which is on the campus of the Cleveland Clinc. The story further says that the 15th floor has been set aside for the presumptive nominee. UPDATE: see this story from New York Magazine.

Therefore, if no one knows who the presumptive nominee is at the beginning of the convention, that causes a problem.

The story quotes Matt Borges, chair of the Ohio Republican Party, as saying that of course there will be a presumptive nominee. Borges also says not a single vote has yet been cast in any presidential primary. He is incorrect. Absentee voting started in New Hampshire on January 7.