California Legislator Wins Lawsuit Over Residency Requirement for Running for Legislature

Posted on by March 10, 2010
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On March 10, a Superior Court in Sacramento, California, upheld the Secretary of State’s decision to list Tom Berryhill on the Republican primary ballot for State Senate. Berryhill is an Assemblymember who hasn’t lived in the State Senate district he seeks to run in for a year before the election. He moved into the district on December 30, 2009.

The State Constitution, since 1879, has required candidates for the legislature to have lived in the district for at least a year before the election, but the Secretary of State and the Attorney General determined in the mid-1970’s that that part of the California Constitution violates the U.S. Constitution. The case is Fuller v Bowen, 34-2010-80000452. The plaintiff, Heidi Fuller, is also a candidate for the same State Senate seat. The judge ruled from the bench and has not yet put his opinion in writing.

Carbon-Paper Petitioning Case Finally Gets Oral Argument

Posted on by March 10, 2010
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In 2009, a group in Daytona Beach, Florida, set out to qualify three separate city initiatives for the ballot. The group decided that its work would be easier if it could use a packet in which all three petitions were grouped together with carbon paper in-between. That would have made it possible for a voter to sign his or her name and address just once, yet effectively sign all three petitions. The city did not approve the idea, so the group sued. On March 9, the case received oral arguments in Circuit Court in Volusia County. The judge did not decide the issue at the hearing, but will issue an opinion fairly soon.

The group was also prepared to let voters who wished to sign one petition, but not all three, sign a separate petition. The web page of the group that is backing the initiatives is here.

Doris Haddock Dies at the Age of 100

Posted on by March 10, 2010
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On March 9, Doris “Granny” Haddock died in New Hampshire at the age of 100. She had been an advocate of public funding for campaigns, both nationally and in her home state. As recently as September 2007 she was vigorously lobbying the New Hampshire legislature on behalf of a bill for public funding. She was most famous for having walked across the United States at the age of 90, to publicize her ideas about campaign finance. She was the Democratic Party nominee for U.S. Senate in 2004 in New Hampshire, polling 34% of the vote. Also, she was a speaker at the 2000 national convention of the Reform Party. See this story. Thanks to Eric Brown’s Political Activity Law blog for the link.

Hawaii Bill to Move Primary Has Senate Hearing

Posted on by March 10, 2010
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Hawaii HB 2397, which moves the primary from September to August, has a hearing in the Senate Judiciary and Government Operations Committee on Friday, March 12, at 9:30 a.m. The bill also moves the deadline for a new party to submit its petition from April to February. The bill doesn’t change the law that says such a petition is due 150 days before the primary. But, when the primary moves, the deadline automatically also moves.

Very early petition deadlines for new parties are unconstitutional. No published opinion has ever upheld a deadline for a new party petition, or other procedure to get a new party on the ballot, if that deadline was earlier than May. It would be desirable if HB 2397 were amended to decrease the 150-day requirement. Hawaii certainly doesn’t need 5 months to check a petition of fewer than 1,000 signatures.

Big Business Contributions Pour In for California Proposition 14

Posted on by March 9, 2010
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The California Secretary of State’s web page shows these contributions to the committee that favors Proposition 14, the “top-two open primary”:

1. California Assn of Health Underwriters PAC, $100,000
2. Hewlitt Packard, $100,000
3. Eli Broad, $100,000
4. William Oberndorf, $50,000
5. Blue Shield of California, $50,000
6. Pacific Life Insurance Co., $25,000
7. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, $20,000
8. California Business PAC (Chamber of Commerce) $20,000

There are also some contributions at the $10,000 level.