Michigan Supreme Court Mulls Whether to Take Socialist Party Ballot Access Case

Posted on by December 22, 2010
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The Michigan Supreme Court held a conference on December 21.  Among other cases, the Court considered whether to take the Socialist Party’s ballot access case.  The Court has not yet said whether it will hear the case.  It challenges the aspect of Michigan election law that requires newly-qualifying parties to show twice as much support as previously qualified parties.  The number of signatures to get a party on the ballot is approximately twice as high as the vote test for an old party to remain on.  The case is Socialist Party of Michigan v Land, 142163.

Nebraska Judge Promises Quick Ruling in Lawsuit on Circulator Residency Restriction

Posted on by December 22, 2010
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On December 21, U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Bataillon heard arguments in Bernbeck v Gale, 4:10-cv-3001.  The issues are various restrictions on who can circulate a petition, and how circulators may be paid.  See this story.  The judge promised to rule quickly.  Nebraska is in the 8th circuit, and the 8th circuit is the only circuit in which residency restrictions have been upheld, in the years since the U.S. Supreme Court first said petitioning is First Amendment activity.  The U.S. Supreme Court first said that in 1988, when it unanimously struck down a law banning paying circulators.

Court Explains why Kinston Voters Don't Have Standing to Challenge Nullification of Initiative Making City Elections Non-Partisan

Posted on by December 21, 2010
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On December 20, a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., issued an opinion explaining the basis for its order last week in LaRoque v Holder.  This is the case brought by some voters in Kinston, North Carolina, who supported a winning city ballot measure in 2008 that converted city elections from partisan elections to non-partisan elections.  The U.S. Justice Department had then objected to switching to non-partisan elections.  The voters then sued the Attorney General.  Last week the court ruled against the voters, and for the U.S. Justice Department, but did not issue an explanation.  Now, the court has released its explanation.

The court says the plaintiff voters don’t have standing because they are not truly injured by the Justice Department’s action.  The decision implies that if the city of Kinston had filed the lawsuit, then the lawsuit could have proceeded.  Thanks to Rick Hasen’s ElectionLawBlog for the link.

Court Explains why Kinston Voters Don’t Have Standing to Challenge Nullification of Initiative Making City Elections Non-Partisan

Posted on by December 21, 2010
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On December 20, a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., issued an opinion explaining the basis for its order last week in LaRoque v Holder.  This is the case brought by some voters in Kinston, North Carolina, who supported a winning city ballot measure in 2008 that converted city elections from partisan elections to non-partisan elections.  The U.S. Justice Department had then objected to switching to non-partisan elections.  The voters then sued the Attorney General.  Last week the court ruled against the voters, and for the U.S. Justice Department, but did not issue an explanation.  Now, the court has released its explanation.

The court says the plaintiff voters don’t have standing because they are not truly injured by the Justice Department’s action.  The decision implies that if the city of Kinston had filed the lawsuit, then the lawsuit could have proceeded.  Thanks to Rick Hasen’s ElectionLawBlog for the link.

Arizona Recount Confirms that Measure to Move Petition Deadline for Initiatives from July to May did not Pass

Posted on by December 21, 2010
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On December 20, the Arizona Secretary of State announced that the statewide recount for Proposition 112 shows the same result as the original count.  The measure was defeated under both counts.  The first count showed it losing by 128 votes, and the recount showed it losing by 194 votes.

Proposition 112 would have changed the petition deadline for initiative petitions from early July of the election year, to early May.  The deadline is written into the state Constitution, so it can only be changed with a popular vote.  See this earlier coverage of this story.  See this story about the recount results.