All the briefs have now been filed in Daien v Ysursa, in U.S. District Court in Idaho. The case challenges Idaho’s ban on out-of-state petition circulators. It also challenges Idaho’s law that requires an independent presidential candidate to collect six times as many signatures as are needed for a statewide independent candidate for office other than president. Here is Daien’s brief; here is the State’s brief. Both were filed on October 2.

The plaintiff, Donald Daien, lives in Arizona and he wants to be able to petition for an independent or minor party presidential candidate in 2012 who shares his political views. In the past, Daien has been a volunteer petitioner in many states for Ralph Nader.

This original article in the October 7 issue of City Journal explains why the Working Families Party is now the best-organized political party in New York city, even out-organizing the Democratic Party. Thanks to Jack Dean for the link.

According to this story, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is threatening to veto all 700 bills on his desk, if the legislature doesn’t come to an agreement on how to reform distribution of the state’s water supplies. Among the election law bills on his desk are: AB 30, to let 17-year-olds register (but not vote until they are 18); SB 34, to outlaw paying initiative circulators on a per-signature basis; and AB 1396, which deregulates the Democratic Party.

The deadline for bills to be signed or vetoed is Sunday evening, October 11.