On January 26, the Colorado voters who challenged his ballot position submitted their brief to the U.S. Supreme Court. See it here. The opening argument is on the subject of whether Trump’s behavior qualifies as insurrection, and of course the brief argues that the answer is “yes.”
On January 26, the California Secretary of State released a new registration tally, as of January 5. No Labels has 36,769 registrants in that tally. It had 25,141 at the previous tally, the October 3, 2023 tally.
It needs approximately 75,000. The exact number can’t be known now, but the formula is .33% of the total state registraton when the party qualifies. The deadline is in July 2024.
Because No Labels gained 11,628 during October, November, and December, it is safe to assume that its current registration is probably close to 40,000, accounting for the new registrations it has probably obtained since January 5. In that event, it is halfway toward becoming a qualified party. See the new Report of Registration here.
On January 25, the Kansas House Elections Committee held a hearing on HB 2516, the bill to increase the independent petition requirement for statewide office from 5,000 signatures to 25,000. This newspaper story describes the testimonty. The bill faced opposition. The committee will vote on the bill next week.
If the bill were to pass, Kansas would require a higher percentage for presidential candidates running outside the two major parties than any other state. Currently Wyoming and the District of Columbia have the highest percentages, when the number of signatures for 2024 (using the easiest method) is divided by that jurisdiction’s most recent presidential vote.
On January 23, the Connecticut Supreme Court issued its opinion in Alves v Giegler, SC20907, the lawsuit involving the Independent Party’s activity in the 2023 Danbury Mayoral Election. The Independent Party in Danbury had two factions. Both held competing nominating conventions and each nominated someone different for Mayor. The town clerk chose one nominee, but then the lower state court said neither nominee should be on the ballot. The State Supreme Court agreed with the lower court. Here is the opinion.
On January 24, the Maine Supreme Court rejected the Secretary of State’s appeal in the lawsuit involving ballot access for former President Donald Trump. The lower court had put the Secretary of State’s decision in abeyance pending resolution of the Colorado case in the U.S. Supreme Court. The Secretary of State of Maine had then tried to persuade the State Supreme Court to reinstate her decision. But the State Supreme Court said the lower court ruling isn’t yet final, so it isn’t possible to appeal it.
Thus, Trump remains on the Maine Republican presidential primary ballot.
Here is the ruling. Trump v Secretary of State, 2024-ME-5.
