Attorneys for Washington state have sent this letter to the clerk of the 9th circuit, advising that the state’s litigators in this case hope the oral argument will be no earlier than October 22 in Washington State Republican Party v Washington State Grange. This is the lawsuit that has been pending since 2005 over that state’s “top-two” election system.
The September 9 Columbus Dispatch has this story about the September 7 decision that enjoins the Ohio ballot access law for newly-qualifying parties. The story seems to say that the Secretary of State will not appeal the decision. Still to be determined is the Secretary of State’s position on the Constitution, Green, and Socialist Parties.
New parties, such as Americans Elect, can be expected to present evidence to the Secretary of State that they also have a modicum of voter support. This should be easy for Americans Elect, which will be able to show that it has collected approximately 1,700,000 signatures on various petitions around the country so far this year. In neighboring Michigan, where Americans Elect turned in over 68,000 signatures in May, the Board of State Canvassers is expected to certify Americans Elect at its meeting on September 15. In California, Americans Elect is expected to turn in its signatures today in the southern California counties in which it hasn’t already turned in its signatures.
The Rick Perry for President campaign has posted on its web page a copy of part of the Libertarian Party News from March/April 1987. That page of the newsletter is Ron Paul’s letter of resignation from the Republican Party. Paul’s letter is somewhat critical of President Ronald Reagan.
At the Republican presidential debate of September 7, Paul had criticized Perry for having been a supporter of Al Gore for President in 1988, and Paul also held himself out as an early supporter of Ronald Reagan for President. Nothing in Paul’s 1987 resignation letter directly contradicts anything Paul said in the debate. But Perry is trying to show that Paul has not always been an unabashed supporter of all of Ronald Reagan’s policies.
The Third Circuit will hear the Carl Lewis ballot access case on Tuesday, September 13. The case is Lewis v Guadagno, 11-3401.
On September 8, the Missouri House Elections Committee passed HB 3, which moves the presidential primary from early February to early March. The bill also increases the filing fee for candidates who wish to run in a presidential primary from $1,000 to $5,000. And after 2012, that fee would rise to $10,000.
The filing fee change does not affect the ability of any qualified party to place its presidential nominee on the November ballot. There is no fee for that in Missouri or any state. But what the increased filing fee does mean (assuming the bill is signed into law) is that minor parties are very likely not to use their presidential primary, because it isn’t likely that any minor party presidential candidate will think it worthwhile to pay such a high fee just to run in his or her own party’s Missouri presidential primary. Generally, presidential primaries for minor parties are not binding anyway.
The Missouri election law will continue to have a petition in-lieu of filing fee for presidential primary candidates, which will continue to be 5,000 signatures. Thanks to Frontloading HQ for the news about the bill moving forward.
