A Vermont Superior Court will hear arguments in Trudell v Markowitz on October 1, at 3 p.m. This is the case that challenges Vermont’s new June petition deadline for independent candidates. The plaintiff, Jerry Trudell, is running for U.S. House. He submitted his petition before the August primary, but later than the deadline. He challenges the constitutionality of the new deadline.
The September 27 issue of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has endorsed write-in candidate Raymond Bunk for Washington State Senate, 31st district. Bunk is a Democrat who ran in the 2010 primary for this same seat. However, at the August 17 primary, two Republicans placed first and second. The editorial says both Republicans are deeply flawed.
Fortunately for Washington state voters, the Washington state top-two system permits write-ins at the general election, unlike the California version. Thanks to Krist Novoselic for the link.
According to this news story, the New York Conservative Party will choose a new gubernatorial nominee on September 29. The former nominee, former Congressman Rick Lazio, withdrew his candidacy on September 27. It seems somewhat likely that the Conservative Party will choose Carl Paladino, the Republican nominee. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for this news.
On September 20, the Green Party filed a notice of appeal to the 8th circuit in Green Party of Arkansas v Daniels, 10-3106. The issue is an Arkansas law that removes parties from the ballot if they go through a presidential election and fail to poll at least 3% of the vote for President. The lower court had upheld the law, saying it is not discriminatory.
The only parties that have polled 3% of the vote for President in Arkansas, during the last forty years, have been Ross Perot’s Reform Party in 1996, and an Independent Party formed by Perot in 1992 in order to get on the Arkansas ballot. At the time, Arkansas didn’t have statutory procedures for independent presidential candidates to get on the ballot, so Perot was forced to create a party in Arkansas.
On September 24, Kara D. Russo filed a lawsuit in the Rhode Island Supreme Court against both her own political party (the Republican Party) and the Secretary of State. See this story. She alleges that it is unconstitutional for the Republican Party to have no nominee on the November ballot for Lieutenant Governor. The winner of the Republican Party primary for that office withdrew after the primary and endorsed an independent candidate, and the Republican Party does not wish to choose a new nominee. The case is Russo v Mollis, su-10-0339. A preliminary hearing in the case, seeking an injunction to stop printing ballots, is being held on Monday, September 27.
