On June 25, U.S. District Court Judge Ronnie L. White issued a procedural ruling in Constitution Party of Missouri v St. Louis County, Missouri, e.d., 4:15cv-207. The ruling denies the government’s motion to dismiss the case.
The lawsuit was filed earlier this year to challenge the county’s charter, which says, “Any vacancy in the County Council shall be filled at the next general election or special election called in accordance with statute. Nominations for election to fill a vacancy shall be made in accordance with statute by the committee men and women of each of the two parties casting the highest vote for governor in the last election whose townships lie in whole or in part within the council districts wherein the vacancy exists.” In other words, in special elections for County Council (which is elected on a partisan basis) the only candidates can be those nominated by the Democratic and Republican Parties.
The county tried to get the lawsuit dismissed on the grounds that the special election is over with and it is very unlikely that there will be another special election in which the Constitution Party wishes to run anyone. The judge said, “There is a reasonable probability that such an opportunity will present itself in the future.” The next stage of the lawsuit will be to decide if the county charter is unconstitutional.