On April 17, U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson held oral argument in Brunner v LaRose, n.d., 4:23cv-2180.  State Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner filed this lawsuit in 2023 against the 2021 Ohio law that says party labels should be on general election ballots for elections for State Supreme Court Justice.  There are no party labels for lower level judicial elections.

The state argued that the case should be dismissed.  Brunner asked to amend her Complaint, and the judge directed that Brunner should submit her draft to the other side, and if there are no procedural objections, it will be allowed.

Brunner argues that the Ohio law concerning the conduct of state judges bars the state from putting party labels on the November ballot.  Brunner must run for re-election in 2026.  She is a Democrat.

On April 26, three more organizations asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Rose v Raffensperger, 23-1060, the case over whether the Voting Rights Act requires Georgia to elect Public Service Commissioners by some method other than standard at-large elections.

Here is the amicus brief of the Sierra Club.

Here is the brief of constitutional law scholars Quinn Yeargain and Anthony Kreis.

Here is the brief of Georgia Conservation Voters Educational Fund.

Fairvote had already filed an amicus in this case.

On April 30, the chair of the Hawaii Democratic Party said that the Democratic Party will not appeal the decision of the Elections Commission that the We the People Party is on the ballot.  We the People is the vehicle for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to appear on the ballot in Hawaii.  It is conceivable that the party will have candidates for office other than President.  Any Hawaii adult citizen is free to run in the party’s August primary for Congress or state legislature.