On November 18, the Arizona Green Party sued to overturn an Arizona law that won’t let non-residents circulate petitions to recognize a new or previously unqualified political party. The party also sued over the deadline for such petitions, as applied to the 2010 election. The legislature in 2009 moved the deadline for such petitions from March to February. The party does not allege that the new deadline is unconstitutional on its face, but that due process requires that the state not implement the earlier deadline in 2010, since the change was made while the process was underway.

The case is Arizona Green Party v Bennett, 2:09-cv-2412. It was assigned to Judge Susan Bolton, a Clinton appointee. The 9th circuit ruled last year that Arizona may not ban out-of-state circulators, in a case filed by Ralph Nader in 2004 when he was an independent presidential candidate. In response, the 2009 session of the Arizona legislature legalized out-of-state circulators for independent presidential candidate petitions, but kept the residency requirement in place for all other types of petitions.

The California Superior Court Judge who has jurisdiction of the lawsuit Institute of Governmental Advocates v Bowen, 34-2009-80000305 (Sacramento County) is expected to issue a tentative ruling on November 19, at 2 p.m. The case concerns whether the California ballot measure for public funding should be removed from the June 2010 ballot or not. The measure provides for public funding for candidates for Secretary of State in the 2014 and 2018 elections. The money would come from fees levied on lobbyists.

On August 25, 2009, the professional association that represents most lobbyists had sued to invalidate the measure, on the grounds that lobbying is protected by the free speech portion of the First Amendment, and that fees on lobbying are only constitutional if they cover the administrative costs of registering lobbyists. The current California fee for registering as a lobbyist is $25 for any two-year session of the legislature, but the public funding proposal raises this to $700.

If either side objects to the tentative ruling, and wants oral argument, then oral argument will be held at 9 a.m. on November 20.

The University of Wisconsin has issued this press release, publicizing a study conducted by four political scientists that says when states make it easy for any voter to vote in advance of the election, the net result can be a decrease in total turnout. The study concludes that early and absentee voting siphons energy away from groups that would otherwise be fully mobilized to get people to the polls on election day. The press release has a link to the study itself.