On July 26, North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said he will sign HB 589, the omnibus election law bill. See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.
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Antonio Sabas has become the first non-major party candidate to file to be on the October 16, 2013 ballot for U.S. Senate in New Jersey. His ballot label is “Freedom of Choice.” However, he only turned in 920 signatures, which could make him vulnerable to a petition challenge if anyone challenged him. The law requires 800 valid signatures. The petition deadline is August 13, 2013. His web page is antoniosabas.com. UPDATE: Sabas actually submitted approximately 1,400 signatures, even though the State Elections web page continues to show the 920 figure.
Meanwhile, Governor Chris Christie still has not acted on AB 4237, which the legislature sent to him on June 27. This bill moves the 2013 election for state office from November 5 to October 16. If the bill were signed, New Jersey taxpayers would save $12,000,000, because without the bill, there is a general special election in October and another general election in November.
On July 25, the Third Circuit set a briefing schedule in Constitution Party of Pennsylvania v Aichele, 13-1952. The parties’ first brief is due September 3, 2013. This is the case that challenges Pennsylvania’s unique challenge-system that puts petitioning groups at risk of huge court fees if their petitions are found insufficient. The U.S. District Court had ruled that the Constitution, Green and Libertarian Parties don’t have standing to challenge the system, which was an absurd conclusion give that the Constitution Party withdrew its 2012 petition because it was afraid of the possibility of the financial risk.
Shortly before midnight, on July 25 the North Carolina House passed HB 589, the omnibus election law bill, so the bill now goes to Governor Pat McCrory.
On July 15, Gary Stein, an independent candidate for the New Jersey legislature, sued in state court to overturn the ballot design used in Atlantic County. The county puts the Republican nominees in a party column head “Republican” in big letters, and treats Democratic nominees in a similar fashion. All other candidates are placed in a third column, headed, “By petition”. See this story.