Roseanne Barr Will Seek Green Party Presidential Nomination

Posted on by January 26, 2012
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Roseanne Barr has taken several steps to make it possible for her to seek the Green Party presidential nomination. She filed with the Federal Election Commission on January 25, and she has fulfilled most of the requirements of the Green Party to seek the nomination. She is a registered Green Party member in California, although she also has a home in Hawaii. One final requirement that she may not have fulfilled (so far anyway) is to have raised $5,000 by February 1. Here are the Green Party requirements.

Tennessee Argues for Full Political Party Control Over Nominations Process

Posted on by January 26, 2012
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On January 17, the 6th circuit heard arguments in Kurita v The State Primary Board of the Tennessee Democratic Party, the case over whether a political party can set aside the primary election results, and declare someone the nominee even though that person did not place first in the primary. In 2008, the party had refused to recognize the primary election victory of Rosalind Kurita, who won the primary for State Senate by 19 votes. The party charged that many voters who were loyal to the Republican Party had voted in the Democratic primary, and therefore the primary lacked validity. Also, the party was already hostile to Senator Kurita, because even though she had been elected as a Democrat, and continued to hold herself out as a Democrat, she had voted to organize the State Senate under Republican leadership.

The state took the position that the narrowness of the primary is irrelevant, and that it is also not relevant that some voters who were really not loyal to the Democratic Party participated in the primary. One judge asked if the party could have acted as it did if the margin had been 1,900 votes instead of 19 votes, and the response from the state was that this would have made no difference. The state also took the position that the 6th circuit does not have authority to order a new primary election, because the Tennessee Constitution forbids special legislative elections if less than a year remains in the term.

Procedural Victory in Lux Case on Petitioner In-District Residency Requirement

Posted on by January 26, 2012
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On January 25, a U.S. District Court heard oral arguments in Lux v Judd, the case over Virginia’s law that makes it illegal for petitioners to circulate a U.S. House candidate’s petition if the circulator lives outside the district. The state argued that in the period since this case was filed, it finally decided to check the plaintiff-candidate’s petition (earlier, the state had refused to check the signatures). The candidate needed 1,000 signatures, and the state said it had determined that his petition only has 943 valid signatures. Therefore, the state argued that the candidate doesn’t have standing and the lawsuit should be dismissed without a ruling on the merits of the law.

The judge ruled from the bench that the candidate-plaintiff does have standing to challenge the law, and gave the state an opportunity to file a supplemental brief explaining why the law is needed. At the oral argument, the state said the law is needed to prevent fraud, and said it will flesh out this argument in its supplemental brief.

Virginia Attorney General Asks State Supreme Court to Reverse Lower Court Decision on Redistricting

Posted on by January 26, 2012
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On January 25, Virginia’s Attorney General asked the State Supreme Court to reverse the lower court ruling of January 24 which found that voters do have standing to challenge the legislature’s power to pass a U.S. House redistricting bill this year. The Virginia Constitution says the legislature must pass redistricting for U.S. House in the odd year following the census. The legislature did not pass such a bill in 2011, but it has passed a bill in 2012. See this story.

Judge Removes Candidate from Ballot Because She Lacks Proficiency in English Language

Posted on by January 26, 2012
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On January 25, a lower state court in Arizona removed Alejandrina Cabrera from the ballot in San Luis, Arizona. She has been running for the City Council, in the election of March 13, 2012. She was removed from the ballot because, after a trial, it was determined that her command of the English language is not sufficient to satisfy Arizona law. See this story. San Luis has five council members, a Mayor, and a Vice-Mayor, elected at-large.

The lawsuit was brought by the city’s Mayor. Cabrera had been part of the attempt to recall the Mayor last year. The recall was never held because the recall petition did not gather enough valid signatures.