On May 14, the Missouri House passed SB 797. It improves procedures for the petition to qualify a new party. Since the House Committee had added an unrelated election law provision to the bill, the bill now goes back to the Senate. The Senate may act on May 15.
On May 14, U.S. District Court Judge John D. Bates, a Bush Jr. appointee, ruled against the Democratic National Committee in its lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission. The Democratic National Committee had filed the lawsuit on April 14, saying that the FEC (which has no quorum) will never be able to resolve the Democratic Party’s complaint that John McCain is violating federal campaign laws. But the Judge said the law requires the federal courts to abstain from such lawsuits until the FEC has had the matter for 120 days. He said the fact that the FEC has no quorum is no excuse to disregard that law. The decision is only 5 pages long and can be read at http://electionlawblog.org, Rick Hasen’s law blog.
FOX Business Network will host a televised debate between two contenders for the Libertarian presidential nomination, Mike Gravel and Wayne Allyn Root, on May 16 (Friday), at 8:10 am (eastern time). There will be a 10-minute session which ends at 8:20; then there will be a second session, also 10-minutes, that starts at 8:40. Bob Barr was invited into this debate, but he declined.
Also, Reason Magazine hosts a 3-person debate on May 20 in Washington, DC, at 4 pm eastern time. That debate will not be televised, but will include Gravel, Root, and Barr.
On May 12, the nation’s TV networks sued South Dakota, over that state’s decision to keep exit pollsters 100 feet from the entrance of polling places at the June 3, 2008 primary. Exit pollsters in almost all other states are permitted to be 25 feet from the entrance. Similar lawsuits have won in federal court in the past in Florida, Georgia, Montana, Ohio, and Washington. The case is American Broadcasting Company (ABC), et al, v Nelson, 4:08-cv-4068.
The Michigan State Court of Appeals will hear Ebbers v Secretary of State on June 11. The issue is whether someone may circulate a recall petition, even if he or she doesn’t live in the district. Case number 283782.
The other three cases pending on the subject of the residency of circulators are Nader v Brewer (pending in the 9th circuit), Moore v Brunner (pending in US District Court in Ohio), and Yes on Term Limits v Savage (pending in the 10th circuit).
