Alan Keyes Asks U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Case on Whether Election Officials Have Duty to Check Eligibility for Presidential Candidates

Posted on by May 14, 2011
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On May 2, Alan Keyes asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his lawsuit against California Secretary Debra Bowen. The case is Keyes v Bowen, 10-1351. Here is the cert petition. Keyes, who ran for President in 2008, believes that President Obama does not meet the constitutional qualifications. He also believes that California law requires election officials to keep candidates off the ballot if they do not meet the constitutional qualifications.

The State Court of Appeals had ruled in this case last year that the California Secretary of State “has no discretion for the general election ballot…She must (“must” is in italics in the decision) place on the ballot the names of the several political parties’ candidates.” This is a significant ruling, given that in both 1968 and 1984, California Secretaries of State had removed presidential candidates from ballots because those presidential candidates did not meet the constitutional qualifications to hold the office. On February 2, 2011, the California Supreme Court had refused to hear the Keyes case, and it is likely that the U.S. Supreme Court will also refuse to hear it. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this news.

Australian’s Youngest Member of House of Representatives Finally turns 21

Posted on by May 14, 2011
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At the August 2010 elections for Australia’s Parliament, the voters of Longman, Queensland, elected Roy Wyatt. He had been nominated at the age of 19, before he had even voted, although by the time of the election he had turned 20. Here is a feature story about him, focused on his speech in the House of Representatives announcing that he is now 21. Thanks to Sam Harley for the link. Roy is a member of the Liberal National Party.

Nevada Democratic Party Intervenes in Nevada Republican Party Lawsuit on Special U.S. House Election

Posted on by May 13, 2011
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On May 12, the Nevada Democratic Party intervened in the lawsuit Nevada Republican Party v State, pending in state court. This is the lawsuit over the rules for the upcoming special U.S. House election. The Secretary of State ruled that parties may not nominate in that election, and the Republicans sued him. The Democrats intervened on the side of the Secretary of State. See this story. The hearing is May 19.

Probably no “Birth Certificate” Bills Will Pass This Year

Posted on by May 13, 2011
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It seems likely that no state legislature this year will pass a bill, requiring presidential candidate birth certificates as a condition of ballot access. The Missouri bill that had contained such a provision, SB 282, passed the legislature today, but a few days ago a conference committee deleted the “birth certificate” part of the bill.

The Oklahoma bill, SB 91, has passed both houses, but the two versions differ. The version in one house accepts a certified copy of the birth certificate, but the version in the other house demands an original. The Conference Committee members were named on May 5, but they have not met, and it is likely the Oklahoma legislature will only be in session for another week.

As reported previously, the only state legislature that passed one of these bills had been Arizona, but the Governor had vetoed it. It seems somewhat plausible that when President Obama produced his birth certificate earlier this month, that took some of the interest away from these bills.