Amanda Swafford and other Georgia Libertarians have set up this web page and crowd source page to advance the Georgia ballot access bill.
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The Ledger-Enquirer, daily newspaper in Columbus, Georgia, has this editorial about HB 58, the bill to improve Georgia ballot access for district and partisan county office.
U.S. District Court Judge Jack Weinstein is hearing oral arguments in Rossito-Canty v Cuomo on Friday morning, February 13. See this story. The issue is whether the U.S. Constitution requires Governor Cuomo to call a special election to fill the vacant U.S. House seat, 11th district. Check back for updates in a few hours. Here is a Courthouse News Service article that describes the arguments Governor Cuomo has made to the court in his written brief.
UPDATE: here is an account of the oral argument.
Here is an editorial in the Staten Island Advance, published February 12, which criticizes the Governor for having failed to set a date for the special election so far.
On February 12, the Virginia Libertarian Party filed notice of appeal in Sarvis v Judd, the lawsuit that challenges a Virginia law that always puts Democratic and Republican Party nominees at the top of the ballot. The U.S. District Court had upheld the law, even though the court found that being on the top of the ballot does provide an advantage. The court said states are permitted to discriminate against minor parties and independent candidates because states have an interest in bolstering the two dominant parties.
Alabama law provides that if no one gets as much as 50% in a primary, a run-off is needed, six weeks later. On February 12, the Eleventh Circuit ruled that Alabama’s scheduling violates the federal law nicknamed “UOCAVA”. “UOCAVA” means “Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act.” In 2009, congress had amended that law to require states to send ballots to overseas voters no later than 45 days before the primary or election.
Obviously, if the runoff primary is only 42 days after the primary, it is impossible for the state to mail the runoff ballots as early as 45 days before the runoff primary. No one can know, until a primary is over, whether a runoff primary is needed and which names will be on that runoff primary ballot. The case is United States of America v State of Alabama and Secretary of State of Alabama, 14-11298. The decision is based on interpreting the federal law. Alabama had argued that there is an exception to the 45-day rule, in another part of the law, but the court disagreed with that interpretation. The federal law does permits states to obtain a waiver from the federal government, but Alabama had not done that. It seems likely that Alabama must change the election law to provide that the runoff primary is seven weeks, not six weeks, after the primary.
In presidential years, Alabama has been holding its primary in March, and its runoff in April. In 2012 the dates were March 13 and April 24. In midterm years, Alabama has been holding its primary in June, and its runoff in July. In 2014 the dates were June 3 and July 15.