The Topeka, Kansas Capital-Journal has this editorial, saying the gubernatorial debate set for the state fair next month ought to be open to all four candidates on the ballot, not just to the Democratic and Republican nominees. The other two candidates are the nominees of the Libertarian Party and the Reform Party.
The Sun-Gazette of Arlington, Virginia, has this article about two lawsuits against the Virginia residency requirement for petitioners. It is a worthwhile and good article, but it has some errors.
The article mostly focuses on the lawsuit filed by the Libertarian Party, but toward the end it mentions the other lawsuit on the same subject, filed by independent candidate Herb Lux. However, the article fails to say that the Lux lawsuit is much further along in the legal process. Also the Lux lawsuit is in federal court, not state court (both lawsuits are in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia).
Also, section 1983 of the U.S. Code does not say anything about election law specifically. Section 1983 is simply the part of the federal law that permits lawsuits that complain about civil rights violations to be filed in federal court. Voting rights are a subset of civil rights. Finally, the story says the Libertarian Party has other lawsuits against residency requirements for circulators in California, Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. Actually the Kansas lawsuit has already been won, and had been filed by the Constitution Party. The pending Colorado case was filed by proponents of an initiative, not by the Libertarian Party.
Virginia doesn’t let a circulator work outside his or home congressional district, if circulating for a candidate for Congress. The story might have mentioned that lawsuits against residency requirements for circulators have already won in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The Prohibition Party will hold its 2012 presidential nominating convention on June 21-23 in Cullman, Alabama. Cullman is in northern Alabama, about midway between Birmingham and Huntsville. UPDATE: the dates have been shifted to June 20-22.
The Prohibition Party has been holding its presidential conventions in the odd year before the presidential election year ever since 1943/1944. The habit came about because in 1937, the Pennsylvania legislature moved the petition deadline from September to April. The 1940 Prohibition Party convention was May 9-10, 1940, after the petition deadline. The party had submitted a Pennsylvania petition by that early deadline. The petition listed candidates for presidential elector but omitted the name of the presidential candidate from the petition form, because he hadn’t been nominated during the time the petition was circulating. The party expected Pennsylvania election officials to print the name of Roger Babson, the presidential nominee, on the ballot, because the presidential elector candidates said they were pledged to him. But the state refused, so the party ever after held its presidential convention the year before the election. Nowadays Pennsylvania permits stand-in presidential candidates, and also the petition deadline is now August 1.
The only announced candidate for the 2012 convention is James Hedges, who lives in Pennsylvania.
A U.S. District Court in Colorado will hear Riddle v Ritter on September 18, at 8:30 a.m. This is the lawsuit that challenges Colorado campaign finance laws that let someone contribute twice as much money to the nominee of a party that nominates by primary, as to an independent candidate. The specific case was filed by supporters of an independent candidate for the legislature. However, if it wins, that would also benefit Tom Tancredo, the Constitution Party nominee for Governor.
The daily newspaper of Charleston, South Carolina, has this article about Rob Groce, the Working Families Party’s first congressional candidate in that state who is not also the Democratic Party nominee. Thanks to Dave Gillespie for the link.
