On November 27, 2013, some opponents of the Montana top-two ballot measure filed a case in the State Supreme Court, asking the Court to remove the measure from the November 2014 ballot. A few days later, the same groups also filed a separate case in the same court against another ballot measure, asking the voters if they wish to eliminate election-day registration.

The Montana Supreme Court ruled on the election-day registration lawsuit on February 5, 2014. The Court kept the measure on election-day registration on the ballot. However, the Montana Supreme Court still hasn’t ruled on the challenge to the top-two measure. Nor has the Court scheduled an oral argument on the matter, although the Court is free to act without oral arguments. All of the briefs were before the Court on February 11. The case is Montana Education Association-Montana Federation of Teachers v State of Montana, OP 13-0789.

The basis for the lawsuit is that Montana law sets a 100-word limit on the description of ballot measures on the ballot, and opponents of the ballot measure say this law was disregarded. The opponents of the ballot measure also say the measure violates the single-subject rule.

The U.S. District Court hearing on whether the Ohio statewide Libertarian candidates should be restored to the Libertarian primary ballot is extending into a two-day hearing. The hearing held Thursday afternoon, March 13, will be continued on Friday morning, March 14, starting at 10 a.m.

The attorney for the Libertarian candidates is hoping to question the attorney for one of the individuals who filed the ballot access challenge. It is not yet determined whether that will be allowed. Such testimony presumably would reveal information about the connection between the Ohio Republican Party and one of the three challengers. If the Libertarians had not been challenged, they would now be on the ballot, because originally the Secretary of State put them on the ballot.

Filing for California’s June 2014 primary has closed. In the 31st U.S. House district, there are again two Republicans running, and four Democrats running. The district is strongly Democratic. In November 2012, Mitt Romney only received 41% of the vote for President inside this district, and the Republican running for U.S. Senate, Elizabeth Emken, also only received 41% inside the district. But the November 2012 ballot gave voters only two Republicans to vote for, with no write-in space. This is because in June 2012, four Democrats running for this seat had split up the Democratic vote, so that the two Republicans placed first and second.

This year, the four Democrats running are Pete Aguilar, Eloise Gomez Reyes, Danny Tillman, and former Congressman Joe Baca. The two Republicans are Paul Chabot and Lesli Gooch. Both are considered strong contenders. Chabot is a former White House official and a retired Navy officer who is endorsed by former Republican Congressman Jerry Lewis. Gooch is the outgoing Congressman’s Senior Policy Director, and is endorsed by that outgoing member, Congressman Gary Miller. A third Republican, San Bernardino City Councilmember John Valdivia, had taken out papers to run, but then decided not to run.