This story appeared recently in a chain of weekly Michigan newspapers, about the Natural Law Party. In Michigan, it is still on the ballot, and in 2008 it gave its presidential nomination to Ralph Nader. The story focuses on the Michigan state chair of the party, Doug Dern.
On February 21, the Virginia Senate voted to defer action on HB 1132 until 2013. Virginia has two-year legislative sessions, and is in the first year of the current session. The bill has already passed the House. It legalizes write-in votes in primaries. Virginia already allows write-ins in general elections, but not primaries.
The bill could not have taken effect in time for the March 6, 2012 presidential primary in any event.
Also on February 21, the Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee unanimously passed HB 1133, which eliminates the law that says circulators can’t work outside their home districts. The law has already been declared unconstitutional.
On February 21, a 3-judge U.S. District Court in Brooklyn appointed a special master, who will be responsible for preparing redistricting plans for New York’s U.S. House and state legislative districts. It is not certain that the special master’s work product will eventually take effect, but this is a clear threat to the legislature, which would rather do its own redistricting, although the legislature has trouble with that because the Assembly is Democratic and the Senate is Republican. See this story.
On February 21, the California State Court of Appeals in Sacramento heard oral arguments in Fuller v Bowen, a case filed by a legislative candidate who meets the California Constitution’s one-year duration of residency requirement for candidates for the legislature. She had filed the case two years ago to force the Secretary of State to enforce the California Constitutional requirement against one of her opponents, who did not meet the one-year requirement.
The three judges, by their questions and statements, seem very likely to rule that the provision can’t be enforced, unless the legislature itself unseats someone who was elected but who doesn’t meet the requirement. One judge did seem somewhat bothered by the fact that the requirement goes unenforced. He asked the attorney for the Secretary of State if it is true that the provision goes unenforced. However, then the same judge asked another question before the attorney could answer, so unfortunately, the attorney for the state never answered the question.
The panel of judges even refused to let the appellant, Heidi Fuller, submit the decision of the New Jersey Supreme Court from February 16, which did enforce an almost identical provision of New Jersey’s Constitution. They said she notified the panel too late about that decision.
According to this story, Jim Jenkins will not be an independent candidate for U.S. Senate this year from Nebraska. In 2011 the legislature passed a bill making it impossible for anyone to be an independent candidate (other than for President or Vice-President) who has been a member of a qualified party during the preceding year. When Jenkins realized this, he then planned to create a new ballot-qualified party and be the nominee of that party for U.S. Senate. However, now he says he has not raised enough money to make his campaign viable.
The publicity about Jenkins’ candidacy has been useful, though. A bill is pending to repeal the 2011 restriction. That bill is HB 1070 and it has already had a hearing in the Senate Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.
