Dick Armey, who was Majority Leader of the U.S. House of Representatives 1995-2003, will be campaigning in upstate New York this month for the Conservative Party nominee for U.S. House, 23rd district, Doug Hoffman. See this story. Thanks to Gene Berkman for the link.

When Congressman Ron Paul was able to obtain a vote on the House floor in 1998 for the bill to outlaw restrictive ballot access laws in federal elections, Congressman Armey was the only member of Congress in a leadership position to vote for it. It was defeated 62-363.

On October 19, the 9th circuit held oral arguments in Coronado v Brewer, 08-17567. The main issue is whether the 24th Amendment requires Arizona to let ex-felons register to vote, even if that ex-felon owes restitution or fines. The 24th amendment says, “The right of citizens of the United States to vote in any primary or other election for President or Vice President, for electors for President or Vice President, or for Senator or Representative in Congress, shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State by reason of failure to pay any poll tax or other tax.”

The three judges on the panel were Alex Kozinski, Sandra Ikuta, and Sandra Day O’Connor, who is of course retired from the U.S. Supreme Court. Justices who retire from the U.S. Supreme Court sometimes participate in panels of U.S. Courts of Appeals in their home states. The hearing was held in Tempe, Arizona, on the campus of the State University. The hearing seemed to go well for the attorneys who are representing the individuals who desire to register to vote. This is an ACLU case.

On October 16, the Massachusetts Secretary of State filed notice of appeal in Barr v Galvan, the case over whether the U.S. Constitution requires states to let unqualified parties use stand-in presidential candidates on their ballot access petitions. The Libertarian Party had won this case in the U.S. District Court last month.

The law in Massachusetts is ambiguous about whether such substitution is permitted. Over the years, the Massachusetts Secretary of State has given conflicting rulings on whether it is permitted or not. The state’s position seems to be that substitution is permitted for minor parties that don’t choose their presidential nominees until July or August of the election year, but that it is not permitted for parties that have a national presidential convention in May or in earlier months. The Libertarian Party national convention is usually on the last weekend of May in presidential election years.