Chicago Tribune columnist Eric Zorn has this column, suggesting that Illinois would benefit from using Instant-Runoff Voting. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
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On March 20, the Ohio Libertarian Party asked the Sixth Circuit to expedite its appeal on whether its statewide candidates should be restored to the Libertarian primary ballot. The party’s brief says, “Ohio’s strict, vicarious punishments of candidates for the sins of their circulators is far too much medicine for the ends (disclosure, fraud detection, prevention) it seeks to achieve. If section 3501.38(E)(1) substantially served Ohio’s end in deterring and preventing fraud, after all, the Secretary would enforce it all the time, not just when someone files a protest.”
The brief also points out that the law requiring circulators to fill in a blank, showing who is paying them, has existed for eight years and had never before been used to remove a candidate or a ballot measure from the ballot. Finally, the brief says that the Ohio Supreme Court will soon be considering whether the challenger who challenged the party’s Attorney General candidate, Steve Linnabary, is eligible to be a challenger (he has never voted in a Libertarian primary). The brief asks that the Court order the Secretary of State not to print the Libertarian primary ballots until the Ohio Supreme Court has a chance to settle the matter of the Attorney General candidate. In the Sixth Circuit, the case is 14-3230. This news story covers not only the U.S. District Court decision, but the news that the party has appealed to the Sixth Circuit.
On March 19, the Kansas Senate unanimously passed HB 2130, which repeals all Kansas laws that bar out-of-state circulators. The new law requires circulators to be at least age 18, a citizen of the U.S., and to not be an ex-felon. The House had passed this bill in 2013. The bill now goes to the Governor.
on March 19, U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson ruled that the Ohio law requiring paid circulators to identify their employer on each petition sheet is probably constitutional. Therefore there is no basis to restore the statewide Libertarian candidates to the Libertarian Party primary ballot. The party and its statewide candidates have filed a notice of appeal.
The decision does say, “Evidence in the record supports an inference that operatives or supporters of the Ohio Republican Party orchestrated the protest”, but the decision also says that is not relevant to the constitutionality of the disclosure law. The opinion says that the disclosure requirement is necessary to help prevent petitioning fraud, although the opinion also says there is no reason to think any of the petitions in this matter are fraudulent.
On March 19, New Jersey election officials agreed that they will grant voter registration rights to the Socialist Party. This means that when anyone fills in the “political party” blank on voter registration forms, the state will keep a tally of these voters, and then party officers will be able to learn of the existence of such voters.
Other unqualified parties that are treated this way are the Conservative, Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, and Reform Parties. Each of these parties obtained that status by suing the state, just as the Socialist Party did last year. It is hoped that New Jersey officials will promulgate regulations that explain which groups have voter registration rights. Some of the parties that have such rights no longer exist, but without regulations on how groups obtain and keep such rights, there is no way to delete groups from the list. Alternatively, it is possible the legislature will address this matter.