On December 17, Montana’s Attorney General asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Arizona’s appeal in Brewer v Nader, the case in which the 9th circuit struck down Arizona’s early June petition deadline for independent candidates, and also struck down Arizona’s ban on out-of-state circulators. Here is a copy of the brief. The brief was co-signed by Alabama, Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming.

This amicus brief is 26 pages long, just as long as the brief Arizona itself filed. Like the Arizona brief, the amicus focuses most of its fire on the issue of out-of-state circulators. It is odd that Alabama, Delaware, Florida, and New Hampshire signed the amicus, because those four states don’t bar out-of-state petition circulators.

The brief cites the U.S. District Court decision in Oklahoma last year that upheld the ban on out-of-state circulators. Ironically, the 10th circuit reversed that decision the very day after the amicus was filed.

According to this story in the Tampa Tribune of December 22, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson will again introduce a constitutional amendment in January, to abolish the electoral college. Nelson had introduced it in June 2008 as SJR 39, but it made no headway.

SJR 39 is worded this way: “Sec. 1. The President and Vice President shall be jointly elected by the direct vote of the qualified electors of the several States and territories and the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States. The electors in each State, territory, and the District constituting the seat of Government of the United States shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous branch of the legislative body where they reside.

Sec. 2. Congress may determine the time, place and manner of holding the election, the entitlement to inclusion on the ballot, and the manner in which the results of the election shall be ascertained and declared.”

If you are concerned about Indiana ballot access, it is important to know that bills must be introduced only four session days after the legislature convenes on January 7.

Indiana ballot access is among the worst in the nation. For the last three presidential elections, the presidential candidate who placed third nationally has not been on the ballot in Indiana. That candidate, of course, is Ralph Nader. Indiana is one of only 4 states in which Nader’s name has never been on the ballot. Of all the states with really bad ballot access, Indiana and Texas are the only ones with no ballot access lawsuits pending. Therefore, any improvement in those two states must be by persuading state legislators to improve the laws. In Texas, legislators may introduce bills as late as March 13, 2009.