The deadline for California Governor Jerry Brown to sign or veto bills is October 13. He still has not acted on AB 857, the bill to require that statewide initiative petitions are invalid unless at least 10% of the valid signatures were collected by volunteers.
Dean and Nicole Greco have completed work on their first full-length film, which is a documentary about U.S. ballot access laws. The first public showing will be at the Flemington, New Jersey, Elks Lodge on Rt. 31, on Sunday, November 3. Flemington is in west central New Jersey. Here is a newspaper story about the event. The name of the film is “Breakficants.”
The Hawaii Justice Party has a lawsuit pending against the February petition deadline for newly-qualifying parties. The case had been set for trial on October 15, but both sides have agreed to postpone it until January 7, 2014. This postponement will make it somewhat more likely that the case can be settled. The case is Justice Party v Nago, U.S. District Court, 1:12cv-403.
On October 9, the plaintiffs in Stone v Board of Election Commissioners filed this opening brief in the 7th circuit. The case is a challenge to the petition requirements for citywide candidates in Chicago. The law requires 12,500 valid signatures, to be collected in 90 days during late autumn and winter. No one can sign for more than one candidate.
The brief explains the reality of petitioning in Chicago citywide offices. The powerful Democratic Party machine has its favorite candidates, even though Chicago city elections are non-partisan. The party organization collects hundreds of thousands of signatures for its chosen candidates, shrinking the poll of voters who still haven’t signed for anyone. The brief also argues that 12,500 signatures are not needed, given that candidates for statewide office in a major party primary in Illinois only need 5,000 signatures.
The case is Stone v Board of Election Commissioners, 13-2733.
The Memphis Daily News has this article about the special legislative election set for November 21, 2013. The article includes information about the recent Libertarian Party lawsuit. The election will have the Democratic nominee on the ballot, and the Libertarian nominee on the ballot. The Libertarian nominee, James Tomasik, wants to be listed on the ballot as “Libertarian”, not “independent.”
