Six California Utility Districts, and City of San Francisco, File Lawsuit to Remove Proposition 16 from the June 2010 Ballot

Posted on by March 18, 2010
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On March 18, seven California cities, including San Francisco, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court in Sacramento to remove Proposition 16 from the June 8, 2010 statewide ballot. See this story. Proposition 16 has little to do with election law, but this news is interesting because it shows the extent to which the California June 2010 ballot is still unsettled. Proposition 16 would provide that if a city switches to public power, the voters of that city must approve the idea with a two-thirds popular vote.

The lawsuit is Modesto Irrigation District v Bowen. UPDATE: here is the complaint, which says, “The initiative is so permeated with misinformation that it prevents a reasonable voter from making informed choices and therefore constitutes a violation of due process under the Fourteenth Amendment.”

California Court Hears Lawsuit On Validity of Electronic Signatures on Petitions

Posted on by March 18, 2010
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On Thursday, March 18, a Superior Court in San Mateo County, California, will hear Ni v Slocum. This is a case over whether a voter may sign a petition electronically. The plaintiff, Michael Ni, signed a statewide initiative petition in favor of legalizing marijuana. He signed it using the screen of his iPhone. His signature was delivered to the county elections office on a flash drive.

The California law says voters must “personally affix” their signatures to petitions. The county elections office, and the Secretary of State, argue that the law does not permit electronic signatures. See this story about the case from Fox & Hounds blog. Ni is co-founder of a Silicon Valley start-up that makes software for electronic signatures. If electronic signatures are ever accepted, it would be possible to circulate initiative petitions more cheaply than is currently the case. Most California legislators are hostile to the initiative process and are unlikely to approve any bill that makes it easier to get initiatives on the ballot. It is possible someone will circulate an initiative to legalize electronic signature-gathering someday.

Strange New Mexico Law Gets Liberal Interpretation from Democratic Party, but Restrictive Interpretation from Republican Party

Posted on by March 17, 2010
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New Mexico has a unique election law, 1-1-20. It is “Major Fractions. In any place in the Election Code requiring counting or computing of numbers, any fraction or decimal greater than one-half of a whole number shall be counted as a whole number.” This law seems to have been passed in 1978.

Suddenly, the law has assumed importance. New Mexico laws also say that qualified major parties hold endorsement conventions. Any candidate who has the support of at least 20% of the delegates is granted an easier path to the primary election ballot. All major party members seeking a place on a primary ballot need a petition, but candidates without 20% of the delegates need a tougher petition. The petitions are due near the end of March.

Adam Kokesh, a Republican who supports Ron Paul’s ideas, is running for U.S. House in the 3rd district. He only got 19.6% of the convention vote at the recent Republican endorsements convention, and the party says he didn’t meet the threshold for easier access to the primary ballot. But a Democratic Party member running for Lieutenant Governor, Joe Campos, who also got over 19.5% of his party’s convention vote but under 20%, is being treated by the Democratic Party as someone who got 20%, due to the rounding law. See this story. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.