The 9th circuit has now received briefs from all sides in the ongoing lawsuit over the “top-two” election system. The Democratic Party of Washington, the Republican Party of Washington, the Libertarian Party of Washington, the Secretary of State, and the Grange, have all expressed themselves. No one expects the 9th circuit to stop the Washington state primary, which is set to be held in two weeks. Probably a decision will be in 2009.
The 9th circuit has now received briefs from all sides in the ongoing lawsuit over the “top-two” election system. The Democratic Party of Washington, the Republican Party of Washington, the Libertarian Party of Washington, the Secretary of State, and the Grange, have all expressed themselves. No one expects the 9th circuit to stop the Washington state primary, which is set to be held in two weeks. Probably a decision will be in 2009.
On August 1, the Ohio Solicitor General asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear its appeal in Ohio v Citizens for Tax Reform. The 6th circuit had invalidated an Ohio law that makes it illegal for initiative proponents to pay circulators on a per signature basis. The evidence in that case is strong that such laws make it considerably more expensive to qualify initiatives. The U.S. Supreme Court case number is not yet known. Thanks to David Langdon for this news.
On August 7 or August 8, Ralph Nader will bring a lawsuit against the Idaho Secretary of State, to win the ability to use petition circulators who are not permanent residents of Idaho. Idaho is one of five states in which Ralph Nader has never appeared on the ballot. It requires 5,984 valid signatures for an independent presidential candidate. Nader’s 2004 petition was found not to have enough valid signatures. For some reason, Idaho petitions are always judged to have a low validity rate, even though a very high percentage of Idaho residents are registered to vote.
The Idaho petition deadline for an independent presidential candidate is August 25. The lawsuit will be based on Nader’s July 9 victory against Arizona’s ban on out-of-state circulators. That decision was from the 9th circuit, so it should control the outcome in Idaho, since both states are in the 9th circuit. Idaho, California and Arizona had been the only states in the 9th circuit that prohibit out-of-state circulators.
On August 4, the Chuck Baldwin faction of the American Independent Party of California sued the California Secretary of State, over her decision last month to list Alan Keyes as the American Independent Party presidential nominee. The case was filed in Superior Court in Sacramento, and is called James King v Debra Bowen, with Ed Noonan as the Real Party in Interest (that means it is a 3-cornered lawsuit).
