On August 3, Rocky Anderson and the Justice Party filed their reply brief in Vermont lower state court, in Anderson v State of Vermont. The issue is whether a petitioning candidate should be kept off the November ballot, not because he didn’t obtain enough valid signatures, and not that he didn’t submit them in time, but because some town clerks didn’t check the petitions quickly. This reply brief goes beyond just technical issues and is an interesting read.
On August 3, the Michigan Supreme Court voted to keep a referendum on the November 2012 statewide ballot. The case is Stand Up for Democracy v Secretary of State, 145387. The Board of State Canvassers had kept it off the ballot because the law says such petitions must be in 14 size font and this petition apparently had print that was somewhat smaller, although that is not settled and different experts have different opinions. Computerized printing has made such standards somewhat arbitrary. Here is the opinion.
Justice Mary Beth Kelly wrote the controlling opinion. She feels the font size was correct. Three other justices did not, but they felt that substantial compliance is sufficient. Those four, voting together even though they don’t agree with each, provide the four votes to keep the measure on the ballot. Three other justices felt that the font size was too small and that strict compliance is necessary. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
According to this story, on August 2, the Osceola County, Florida Commission repealed a county requirement that county initiative petitions contain the precinct number of each signer. Even if the Commission had not taken this action, a case could have been made that the requirement is unconstitutional. A similar requirement had been invalidated in U.S. District Court in New York in 1994 in Schultz v Williams; and the 5th circuit invalidated a Texas law that required signers to include their Voter Registration Affidavit number on petitions in Pilcher v Rains in 1988.
Now that voter registration records are computerized, it is irrational to require petition signers to put their precinct number on a petition.
On August 1, the New Mexico Secretary of State informed Jon Barrie that he doesn’t have enough valid signatures to be on the November ballot as the Independent American Party nominee for U.S. Senate. He would have been the first minor party or independent candidate for U.S. Senate on the New Mexico ballot since 1996 if he had had enough valid signatures. He was told he lacks 277 valid signatures.
The state requires 6,018 valid signatures. On June 26 he had submitted 10,279 signatures. He had already successfully collected 3,009 signatures on a different petition to qualify the Independent American Party. New Mexico, alone among the states, requires a newly-qualifying party to submit one petition to qualify itself, and then separate petitions for each of its nominees (other than presidential nominees).
Barrie had created the Independent American Party mostly as a vehicle so that he could run for U.S. Senate. If he had run as an independent, he would have needed 18,054 valid signatures. He will contest the finding that he did not have enough valid signatures. Thanks to Gary Odom for this news.
The Nation has a very interesting article about the Pennsylvania trial over photo-ID requirement for voters at the polls. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.
