This Bay State Banner story lists and explains ten lawsuits, in five states, in which plaintiffs are arguing that the state or jurisdiction intentionally discriminated against ethnic and racial minority voters, and therefore the little-used Section 3 of the Voting Rights Act applies. The cases are pending in Texas, North Carolina, and jurisdictions within Louisiana, Alaska, and Montana. Section 3 says that regardless of whether an area is covered by the formula in section 4 (which no longer exists, due to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2013), the state or jurisdiction that discriminates intentionally is subject to preclearance, for certain kinds of election law changes.

The Nation has this interview with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont). Sanders says he is thinking about running for president and if he did run, he has not decided whether he would run independently of the Democratic Party, or participate in the Democratic Party presidential primaries. Thanks to PoliticalWire for the link.

On March 6, the Third Circuit heard oral arguments in Constitution Party v Aichele, 13-1952. This is the case in which the Constitution, Green, and Libertarian Parties are challenging the unique Pennsylvania system that puts petitioning groups at risk of as much as $110,000 in court costs if they submit a petition that is found not to have enough valid signatures. The hearing went well, and it is very likely that the three judges will find that the plaintiffs do have standing. If that happens, the case will be sent back to the lower court, which had ruled that the parties don’t have standing.

The hearing lasted 45 minutes, and a good number of minor party supporters were in the audience, including Cheri Honkala, the Green Party vice-presidential nominee in 2012. The three judges are Thomas Ambro, Kent Jordan, and Jane Roth.