On July 7, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Melvin Westmoreland blocked the relatively new Georgia law that requires voters to present government-issued photo ID’s, in order to vote at the polls. Assuming the injunction stands, the old law, requiring ID (but not necessarily government-issued photo ID) will be in force instead. Lake v Perdue, Fulton Co. Superior Court, 2006-cv-119207.
Republican State Senator Jake Knotts is mulling over whether to be an independent candidate for Governor. He needs 10,000 valid signatures by July 17. If he qualifies, he will be the first independent candidate for Governor in the history of government-printed ballots in South Carolina. South Carolina has only been using government-printed ballots since 1950.
Other states that have never had an independent candidate on a government-printed ballot, for Governor, are Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico and North Carolina.
On June 29, U.S. District Court Judge Richard Kopf, a Bush Sr. appointee, ruled that cities may not ban petitioning in public parks, just because the city had rented out the park to a private group sponsoring a festival. He also ruled that cities may not ban petitioning on sidewalks leading to public libraries. Groene v Seng, 4:06-cv-3153. The case has not yet been fully adjudicated, but Judge Kopf issued granted injunctive relief, pending the remaining proceedings in the case.
The North Dakota Libertarian Party recently decided to run Roland Riemers for U.S. Senate this year. He needs 1,000 signatures by early September, and expects to obtain them. This means that every state has minor party or independent candidates for statewide office this year (except in the two states, Kentucky and North Carolina, that don’t hold any statewide elections this year).
There is a good chance that almost all of these 48 states will have such minor party or independent candidates for statewide office on the ballot. The only state in which there is no chance that such a candidate will be on the statewide ballot is Alabama. In Illinois, the Greens will be on if they survive the challenge (it seems likely they will). There is also uncertainly about Pennsylvania and New Mexico; court actions will be important in those two states.
The ACLU of Connecticut filed a lawsuit on July 6, challenging Connecticut’s “Clean Elections” public funding law. Green Party of Connecticut v Garfield, 3:06cv-01030. The case was assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Robert Chatigny, a Clinton appointee.
“Clean elections” public funding laws require candidates for state office to raise a large number of small donations. Those candidates who meet this threshold, then qualify for public funding. There is no logical reason for any “clean elections” law to discriminate for or against any candidate, on the basis of his or her party membership. The Maine, Vermont and Arizona “clean elections” laws, and the law that formerly existed in Massachusetts, did not discriminate for or against any candidate on the basis of party. But the Connecticut law passed in 2005 excludes the nominees of parties that did not poll 10% in the last election, unless they submit a petition signed by 10% of the voters in that district.
The ACLU lawsuit also challenges a separate requirement of Connecticut’s “clean elections”, law, a provision that bars lobbyists, state contractors and their family members from contributing to candidates.
All “clean elections” laws only relate to candidates for state office. States are not permitted to pass laws relating to campaign finance for federal candidates.
