Inc.com has a short feature about Michael Jingozian’s attempt to win the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination. See it here. Thanks to Eric Dondero for this news.
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The trial in Common Cause v Billups is continuing into its third day, Friday, August 24. See here for an account of the Thursday session. The issue is the constitutionality of Georgia’s law requiring voters to show Government Photo-ID in order to vote at the polls. The case is Common Cause v Billups, although the name if the case will probably change soon, since on Thursday the judge dismissed Common Cause as a plaintiff. Since the NAACP was retained as a co-plaintiff, the case will probably be renamed NAACP v Billups.
UPDATE: the trial is over now. A decision is expected in the next three weeks.
On August 23, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his two predecessors, former Governors Gray Davis and Pete Wilson, held a joint press conference in Los Angeles. Their topic was a plea to the legislature to pass a proposed state constitutional amendment, setting up an independent commission to draw U.S. House and state legislative district boundaries. If the legislature passes such a proposal, then it would appear on the ballot for the voters to approve or disapprove it.
Governor Schwarzenegger also commented negatively on the proposed initiative to let each U.S. House district in California choose its own presidential elector. He said, “In principle, I don’t like to change the rules in the middle of the game.”
The Illinois legislature has extended the deadline for HB 1685 to pass until August 24. HB 1685 is the National Popular Vote Plan. It had passed both houses of the Illinois legislature months ago, but in different form, so it still isn’t through the legislature.
The lead plaintiff in the Alabama ballot access case has decided to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. The case was lost in the 11th circuit on June 29. The issue is the 3% (of the last gubernatorial vote) petition requirement for minor parties and for all independent candidates except presidential independents (presidential independents just need 5,000 signatures).
The attorney for the plaintiff is asking for an extension of time from the U.S. Supreme Court, to file the petition for certiorari. Assuming the extension is granted, this will make it possible for the petition for certiorari to be written after the oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court in the Lopez Torres New York ballot access case. We will all have a better idea of what the Court is thinking about laws that affect the ability to run for office, after that hearing has been held. That hearing will be on October 3.