Last month, the Fourth Circuit had said it will hear Greenville County Republican Party v Way in its mid-September sitting. But the attorneys for the government were not able to appear during that month, so the case has been removed from the September calendar. Chances are it will be on the October calendar. The issue is whether the Republican Party can close its primaries, including the primaries that the party pays for.
Late on July 10, a Florida state court invalidated the 2011 U.S. House redistricting plan. See this story. The basis for the decision is the Florida Constitution, which tells the legislature to draw the lines in a way that does not help or harm any particular political party. The 41-page decision is Romo v Detzner, Leon County circuit court, 2012-ca-412. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link to the story, and the Campaign Legal Center for the link to the decision.
On July 10, the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office said Jim Jenkins has enough valid signatures to be on the November ballot as an independent for U.S. Senate. He is the first independent candidate for U.S. Senate to be on the Nebraska ballot since 2002. Here is his web page.
The U.S. Senate race will be a three-candidate race. The only minor party on the Nebraska ballot is the Libertarian Party. Although there are four Libertarians running for statewide office, no Libertarian is running for U.S. Senate.
This Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story on the July 9 ruling of the Third Circuit on ballot access is the best article that the mainstream press has yet carried.
See this story in The Militant, which says that the federal prison in Florence, Colorado, is refusing to let an inmate receive his copy of that newspaper. The Militant has had its attorney protest this action.
