On October 10, a lower state court in New Jersey enjoined restrictions on residency for circulators of local petitions. As a result, circulators are free to work on local recall petitions, and on petitions for independent candidates in partisan local elections, whether they live in the locality or not. Empower Our Neighborhood v Guadagno, Mercer County, L-3148-11. Thanks to Flavio Komuves for this news. Here is the decision.
On August 10, the Republican Party asked the IRS to rule that Americans Elect cannot make independent expenditures in support of Angus King, the independent candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine. The Republican Party says Americans Elect is a 501(c)(4) and because it has no general charitable activities, it is misusing its 501(c)(4) status by having helped King. Thanks to Alex Hammer for this news.
On October 10, the Commonwealth Court Judge in Pennsylvania who is handling the challenge to the statewide Libertarian Party petition ruled that the Republicans cannot seek to re-open the challenge process. The Republican challengers had attempted to persuade the judge to give them another chance to invalidate certain signatures they had already agreed are valid. As a result, the Libertarian Party statewide petition is valid. The State Supreme Court will probably now take a slow approach to deciding whether signatures are valid if the signer forgot, or didn’t know, to add “2012” to the date column; and likewise take a slow approach to deciding if signatures are valid if the signer moved within the county and failed to re-register. These two issues are now moot. Nevertheless, the State Supreme Court will almost certainly decide them, for the sake of future disputes. Sometimes these cases take a year or more to decide when there is no immediate time pressure to decide them more quickly.
This year, three candidates appear on the Ohio ballot for U.S. Senate: Democrat Sherrod Brown, Republican Josh Mandel, and independent Scott Rupert. A recent Survey USA poll shows these results: Brown 42%, Mandel 38%, Rupert 4%, undecided 14%, won’t vote 2%.
A recent Gravis Marketing Poll for the Michigan U.S. Senate race shows these results: Democrat Debbie Stabenow 48%, Republican Pete Hoekstra 39%, Libertarian Scotty Boman 7%, undecided or other 6%. The poll did not name the other candidates who are on the ballot, but they include Green Party and U.S. Taxpayers (Constitution) Party nominees.
If Boman polls at least 5%, the Libertarian Party will qualify for its own primary in 2014. Currently, the party is ballot-qualified and nominates by convention.
On October 9, the Ohio Secretary of State asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a recent order by the 6th circuit, that required the state to permit early voting the weekend before the election. The basis for the 6th circuit opinion (as well as the U.S. District Court opinion, which agreed with the 6th circuit) was that Ohio permits members of the military who are in this country to vote early on that weekend. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.
