On September 19, the 9th circuit ruled that initiative and recall petitions do not need to be in any language other than English. Padilla v Lever, 03-56259. This decision was by fifteen judges, who reconsidered the earlier decision. The vote was 14-1. The earlier decision, by three judges, had said that such petitions do need to be in the same languages that are used for ballots. California ballots are in English, Spanish and Chinese.
On September 19, a lower Illinois state court ordered the State Board of Elections to certify Joe Parnarauskis for the ballot as the Socialist Equality Party nominee for State Senate, 52nd district. He had collected 4,991 signatures, a very large amount for a state legislative race. 2,985 signatures were needed. The Democratic Party had challenged his signatures, but he had enough valid, except that some of his sheets didn’t have the State Senate district number at the top of the page. However, the text of the petition did include that information. The case is Parkarauskis v Illinois State Bd. of Elections, 2006-mr-499, Sangamon Co. Circuit Court.
New York city Mayor Michael Bloomberg will host a fund-raiser for Senator Joseph Lieberman, at the Mayor’s residence, on November 1. He will also speak at a fund-raiser on Lieberman’s behalf in Chicago on October 25. Bloomberg was elected and re-elected Mayor as the nominee of the Republican and Indepencence Parties. Lieberman, as is well known, is running for re-election as an independent candidate.
There has been some speculation recently that Mayor Bloomberg will run for president as an independent in 2008. Bloomberg’s assistance for Senator Lieberman tends to show that Bloomberg is friendly to centrist politicians who run independently of the two major parties.
Although a New Mexico ballot access decision was expected on Monday, Sep. 18, it didn’t come out. It had been expected because the state had said it would start printing overseas absentee ballots on Sep. 18. The decision will determine if the Libertarian Party is on this year’s ballot.
On September 18, the 7th circuit ruled 3-0 that Illinois petition requirements for independent candidates for the legislature are too severe, and are unconstitutional. They required a petition signed by 10% of the last vote cast, due in December of the year before the election. Lee v Illinois State Bd. of Elections. The decision is 17 pages long.
