Albuquerque Mayoral Candidate Asks Tenth Circuit to Overturn Decision that Struck Down Ban on Corporate Contributions in City Elections

Posted on by November 20, 2013
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As noted earlier, on September 4, 2013, U.S. District Court Judge M. Christina Armijo struck down Albuquerque’s ban on corporation campaign contributions in city elections. The case was Giant Cab Company v Bailey, 13-cv-426. The outcome was surprising, because the U.S. Supreme Court has consistently upheld laws that ban corporation campaign contributions. Citizens United v FEC did not involve campaign contributions; instead it involved independent expenditures by corporations. But Judge Armijo said the city didn’t explain why the ban was needed, and therefore she invalidated it.

For a while it was thought that the decision could not be appealed, because the Mayor and a majority of the city council approved of the decision. However, Pete Dinelli has intervened in the case and has appealed the decision to the Tenth Circuit. Dinelli, a Democrat, placed second in each of the last two Mayoral races. In the Tenth Circuit, the case is 13-2176.

Socialist Alternative Candidate for Minneapolis City Council Almost Elected

Posted on by November 19, 2013
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One of the noteworthy election returns from November 5, 2013, was that Ty Moore, Socialist Alternative candidate for Minneapolis city council, came close to being elected. Minneapolis uses Instant-Runoff Voting. Six candidates appeared on the ballot in the 9th ward. Moore received 1,569 first place votes, and initially came in second behind Alondra Cano, who received 1,698 first place votes. None of the other candidates received more than 338 first place votes.

When additional rounds were included, Moore gained 189 votes, but Cano gained 289, enough to give her a majority. Here are the full election returns. Moore had been endorsed by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Alabama Supreme Court Has Taken No Action on Presidential Qualifications Case In Eight Months

Posted on by November 19, 2013
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A lawsuit has been pending in the Alabama Supreme Court since March 2013, over whether the Secretary of State has a duty to examine the qualifications of presidential candidates before she certifies them for the general election ballot. The case is Hugh McInnis v Chapman, 1120465. A co-plaintiff is Virgil Goode, who was the Constitution Party’s 2012 presidential nominee.

It is somewhat unusual for the Alabama Supreme Court to either refuse to hear the case, or to accept it, for eight months. This link has copies of the briefs.

Libertarian Qualifies for Ballot Access in Upcoming Special U.S. House Election in Florida

Posted on by November 19, 2013
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Here is the list of qualified candidates in the upcoming special election in Florida, for U.S. House, 13th district. Lucas Overby, a Libertarian candidate in that race, paid the filing fee of over $10,000 to be on the ballot. The Democratic nominee will be Alex Sink, and the Republican nominee will be chosen in a special primary. One write-in candidate, Michael Levinson, will have his write-ins counted.

Overby had tried to qualify with petitions in lieu of the filing fee, but his petition was 19 valid signatures short, so he had to pay the entire filing fee. The election will be March 11, 2014. Here is a newspaper story about the race. UPDATE: here is a news story about how the money was raised.

Illinois Ballot Access Case Re-Assigned to a New Judge, for the Second Time

Posted on by November 19, 2013
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In April 2012, the Illinois Libertarian Party filed a ballot access case in U.S. District Court, challenging: (1) the law that says new parties must run a full slate of candidates; (2) the June petition deadline. Judge Joan Gottschall then enjoined the full-slate law, but did not rule on its constitutionality. The case is Libertarian Party of Illinois v Illinois State Board of Elections, 1:12cv-2511.

Later, the case was transferred to a new U.S. District Court Judge, Thomas Durkin. When new judges are appointed, it is customary that they receive a workload of old, pending cases. Then, on November 19, 2013, the Illinois Libertarian Party case was re-assigned again, to an even newer judge, Andrea Wood, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate a few weeks ago.