On December 19, the Georgia voters and voting groups who are suing to overturn the new U.S. House district boundaries filed this brief, explaining why the new plan (enacted earlier this month) still violates the Voting Rights Act. Pendergrass v Raffensperger, n.d., 1:21cv-5339.
On December 15, the Indiana Supreme Court expedited Rust v Morales, 23S-PL-00371. This is the lawsuit over the 2021 law that says no one may get on a primary ballot unless the last two times the individual voted in a primary, he or she voted in the primary of the party whose nomination is being sought.
The plaintiff, John Rust, won in the lower state court. He last voted in primaries in 2016 (when he voted in the Republican primary) and 2012 (when he voted in the Democratic primary). Because of his 2012 choice of a Democratic primary ballot, he can’t get on the 2024 Republican primary ballot to run for U.S. Senate. The law lets the party waive the requirement, but the waiver was denied for Rust.
The oral argument will be February 12, Monday, at 9 a.m. All the briefs will have been filed by January 19. The Supreme Court so far has refused to stay the lower court decision.
According to this story, the Green Party of North Carolina did not submit any presidential candidates for inclusion on its 2024 presidential primary. The decision does not affect the ability of the party to list its presidential nominee in November.
In 2020, the North Carolina Green Party did have a presidential primary, and the ballot listed Howie Hawkins and uncommitted.
The article also says the No Labels Party isn’t using its presidential primary either, but the law does not permit a new party to have a primary, so even if No Labels had wanted a presidential primary, it could not have had one.
On December 22, California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized statements by other California Democratic office-holders who favor keeping former President Donald Trump off ballots. See this story.
In 1912 the Colorado Supreme Court said in Littlejohn v People ex rel Desch, 121 P.159, “Every qualified elector shall have an equal right to cast a ballot for the person of his own selection, and that no act shall be done by any power, civil or military, to prevent it. Such is the mandate and spirit of the Constitution, and it thereby vests in the elector a constitutional right of which he cannot lawfully be deprived by any governmental power.” The decision struck down a ban on write-in voting in School Director elections. The decision was unanimous.
