On September 7, the California Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard arguments in Field v Bowen. The issue is two particular aspects of the California top-two system (Proposition 14), and whether the Superior Court should have granted injunctive relief in a special election earlier this year. The lawsuit challenges (1) the discriminatory law on ballot labels, in which some candidates may put their party on the ballot and others may not; (2) the complete ban on a candidate appearing on the ballot as “independent”; (3) the law that says write-in space should be on the ballot, but write-ins can never be counted.

Almost simultaneous with the hearing, the California State Senate Elections Committee released an analysis of AB 1413, a bill that would change various details of the California top-two system. The analysis says this about the current write-in law: “One of the provisions of SB 6 prohibited write-in votes from being counted at a general election for a voter-nominated office. Other provisions of law that require that write-in spaces appear on the ballot, however, were unaffected. This could create confusion, and could mislead voters into thinking that write-in votes for candidates for voter-nominated office at a general election will be counted.” This analysis is correct. Current California law on write-ins, which will remain unchanged at least for the remainder of 2011, sets a trap for voters. The ballot shows write-in space, and nothing on the ballot, or in the voter pamphlet, or in any notice posted at the polls, tells voters that write-ins for Congress or state office will not be counted.

On September 7, U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence E. Kahn struck down a New York state law that requires attorneys who practice law in New York, but who do not live there, to have an office in New York state. By contrast, New York attorneys who reside in New York need not have an office, and may work from home. The case is Schoenefeld v State of New York, 1:09-cv-00504, northern district.

The case was filed by Ekaterina Schoenefeld, who represented herself and lives in New Jersey.

The decision may be useful if and when any petition circulator sues New York state to overturn the law that bans out-of-state petitioners. Many of the justifications New York offered in defense of its policy on attorneys apply equally to petitioners.

The September 9 Chronicle of Philanthropy carries this short article, noting that some feel the Americans Elect is a worthy group to receive philanthropic donations. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.