Rhode Island Republicans Worry that Rhode Island Presidential Primary Ballot Access is Too Strict

Posted on by December 27, 2011
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According to this story, Rhode Island Republican Party officials are worried that the leading Republican presidential candidates will have trouble getting on the Rhode Island presidential primary ballot. The law requires 1,000 signatures between January 19 and February 2. The Rhode Island Republican Party is considering the idea of circulating a petition on behalf of each of the candidates it recognizes as legitimate. Any registered voter may sign, but the signatures must be collected in winter weather.

Rhode Island once placed presidential primary candidates on the ballot automatically if they were discussed in the news media. However, that old law was enjoined by a U.S. District Court in 1992. That case, Duke v Connell, 790 F.Supp. 50, was won by David Duke, who had been barred from the Republican presidential primary on the grounds that the major news media didn’t discuss his candidacy for the Republican nomination. The judge felt the law is too vague. These “media” laws are common around the country, and have been upheld in many other states, although the Kentucky “media” law was also invalidated. Because of the David Duke decision, the Rhode Island legislature started requiring 1,000 signatures for presidential primary candidates. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.

U.S. Supreme Court Extends Time for New York Petitioner to File Cert Petition

Posted on by December 27, 2011
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Lori Maslow has obtained an extension of time in which to file a cert petition in the U.S. Supreme Court, over her case involving who can circulate a candidate petition in a primary election. Maslow and her husband are not registered to vote in the same party in New York. She wanted to help circulate her husband’s petition to get on the ballot in the primary, but state law made that illegal, because she is not a member of his political party. The 2nd circuit upheld the restriction that only members of a party may circulate candidate petitions to get on that party’s primary ballot.

Her cert petition would have been due in three days, but she has obtained an extension until January 31, 2012, to file. The case is Maslow v Board of Elections in the City of New York.

New Political Parties in Texas Have Less than a Week to File Notice of Intent

Posted on by December 27, 2011
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Texas currently has four ballot-qualified parties, Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, and Green. Any party that is not now qualified must submit a petition, due in June 2012. But, it may not circulate the petition unless it submits a form no later than January 2, 2012.

So far, the only unqualified parties that have filed this form are the Constitution, Generation, Christian, and Internet Action Parties. It is expected that Americans Elect, and probably others, will file the form soon.

How the Virginia Republican Party Could Expand Voter Choice in its 2012 Presidential Primary

Posted on by December 27, 2011
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The Virginia Republican Party, if it wished, could probably win a lawsuit against the ban on write-ins in its own 2012 presidential primary. Winning against the ban on write-ins would make it possible for Virginia voters who vote in that primary to have a free choice of candidates.

The Virginia Constitution, Article II, section 3, says, “In elections other than primary elections, provision shall be made whereby votes may be cast for persons other than the listed candidates or nominees.” Because this section protects write-in voting in general elections, all Virginia ballot-counting machines are able to handle write-in votes.

The only possible purpose for excluding primaries from the write-in guarantee is to protect the interest of parties. But a party that wants write-ins in its own primary ought to have the constitutional clout to demand it. The U.S. Supreme Court has protected the ability of political parties to control their own nomination process, especially in the recent party rights decision, New York State Board of Elections v Lopez Torres, 552 U.S. 196 (2008). Also, Virginia state courts have always recognized a strong role for political parties in the nominations process.

Virginia Attorney General Wants to Lower Presidential Primary Petition Requirement from 10,000 to 1,100 Signatures

Posted on by December 27, 2011
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On December 26, Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli wrote in his own newsletter that he recommends that the legislature lower the presidential primary petition requirement. Specifically, he advocates that the current 10,000 requirement be changed so that only 1,100 signatures are required, with at least 100 from each U.S. House district. See here. Thanks to Tony Roza and Carey Campbell for this news.

On January 17, a U.S. District Court in Virginia will hear arguments in Lux v Judd, which challenges the Virginia ballot access law that circulators for district office must live in that district. It will be interesting to see if the recent commentary on Virginia presidential primary ballot access influences the oral argument at that hearing.