On April 17, an en banc panel of the 9th circuit ruled that federal postcard voter registration forms, authorized in 1993 by Congress, must be accepted as valid by Arizona. Arizona did not dispute that the federal voter registration postcard forms are valid, but insisted that it would not accept the forms without answers to extra questions mandated by the state.

Specifically, the state wanted the federal voter registration forms to include proof that the voter is a citizen. Arizona insisted that the federal forms include the voter’s Arizona state drivers license number or other state-approved ID. Arizona said that if the voter didn’t have such documents, he or she must attach proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or a copy of a U.S. passport. But the Ninth Circuit said that when Congress passed the “Motor Voter” Act in 1993, which authorized the federal voter registration form, it did not intend for states to have the authority to add to the required information. The decision points out that Congress wanted to simplify voter registration, and attaching bulky documents to the postcard form mean that the postcard and its attachments must be enclosed in an envelope.

The decision hinges on the “Elections Clause”, the part of the original U.S. Constitution contained in Article One that says the federal government may, at any time, overrule state election laws on congressional elections. The decision is Gonzalez v State of Arizona, and has been pending in one federal court or another since 2005. The decision also declined to invalidate Arizona’s law that requires voters at the polls to show photo government-ID, but said that conceivably, with more evidence, that law might perhaps someday be held invalid. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

On April 16, the 6th circuit refused to stay the U.S. District Court order in Hunter v Hamilton County Board of Elections, 12-3224. This is the long-running election dispute in Cincinnati, Ohio, over whether certain provisional ballots in a November 2010 partisan race for Juvenile Court Judge should be counted. The vote was 2-1. Judges Karen Moore and R. Guy Cole, Clinton appointees, were in the majority. Dissenting is Judge John M. Rogers, a Bush Jr. appointee. Here is the brief order. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

This Gadsden (Alabama) Times article says that last week, Bill Armistead, chair of the Alabama Republican Party, wrote all Alabama Republican legislators and asked them not to support SB 15. SB 15 lowers the number of signatures for independent candidates and newly-qualifying political parties.

The letter says that minor party and independent candidates should be kept off the ballot because “they can’t win”. However, in May 2011, in a special legislative race for the State House, district 105, a Constitution Party nominee did get on the ballot and polled 46.02% of the vote in a two-person race. Also in 1988 the Libertarian Party elected a nominee to local partisan office in Lee County, and in 1994 the Patriot Party elected a County Commissioner in a partisan election in Greene County.

It is especially egregious for the Republican Party of Alabama to oppose letting independent and minor party candidates on the general election ballot, because the Alabama major parties have the statutory right to block anyone from running in their primaries if the party feels that the candidate is not “loyal” to that major party. Every year, either the Alabama Republican Party, or the Alabama Democratic Party, blocks candidates from its primary ballot because it doesn’t like their political behavior. In Alabama, candidates running in partisan primaries file with the party, not with elections officials. Thanks to Joshua Cassity for the link.