California Local Candidate Wins Reversal, May Appear as “Steve Albert Chavez Lodge” on Ballot Instead of “Steve Lodge”

Posted on by September 5, 2012
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On September 4, a candidate for Anaheim, California city council won a lawsuit over whether he could use “Chavez” as part of his name on the ballot. See this story. The tentative ruling had said he could not use “Chavez” but the judge changed his opinion after receiving more evidence about the candidate’s use of his full name. The case has important implications if the candidate wins, because Anaheim is under attack for its at-large city council elections, which have never produced a Hispanic city councilmember.

Ninth Circuit Stays Order that had Removed “None of These Candidataes” from Nevada Ballot

Posted on by September 5, 2012
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On September 4, the Ninth Circuit stayed the order of the U.S. District Court in Townley v Miller, 12-16881. This is the case in which the U.S. District Court had said “None of these candidates” should be removed from the ballot in Nevada. One of the three judges on the Ninth Circuit panel wrote separately to criticize the U.S. District Court Judge for issuing an order removing “None” from the ballot, yet delaying issuing a written order explaining the basis for his opinion. That delay made it procedurally difficult for Nevada to appeal. However, Nevada did successfully appeal.

The case is still not over, but it seems obvious that “None of these candidates” will survive further proceedings. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Ohio Secretary of State Asks Sixth Circuit to Reverse Lower Court Decision on Early Voting the Weekend before Election Day

Posted on by September 4, 2012
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On September 4, the Ohio Secretary of State asked the 6th circuit to reverse a recent decision of a U.S. District Court, concerning whether Ohio must let voters vote early on the weekend before election day. The U.S. District Court had required the early voting on that weekend, on equal protection grounds, because the state lets members of the military who are in the U.S. vote early on that weekend. However, the early voting for members of the military is at the discretion of each particular county board of elections.