The Independent Green Party of Virginia has submitted almost 16,500 signatures for its candidate for U.S. Senate (10,000 are required), and the party is working on qualifying a candidate for U.S. House in every Virginia district. It is virtually certain that no other minor party or statewide independent candidates will be on the Virginia ballot this year. The petition deadline is June 13.
The Election Law Journal, the nation’s only peer-reviewed journal focusing on election law, has published an article that uses empirical data to show that restrictive ballot access laws are not needed to prevent crowded ballots. The Election Law Journal does not normally provide any means for non-subscribers to read its articles on-line. However, an exception has been made for the current issue. This particular article can be seen on-line.
On April 21, the 6th circuit ruled that Ohio violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment when, in 2002, it used punchcard ballots in some counties, and better voting methods in other counties. Stewart v Blackwell, 05-3044. The vote was 2-1. All three judges were appointed by Democratic presidents. It is very likely that Ohio will ask for a rehearing en banc.
The majority based its decision on Bush v Gore. The dissent asserted that Bush v Gore is not a binding or meaningful precedent. Bush v Gore, the famous decision of December 12, 2000, which settled the presidential election of 2000, said, “Having once granted the right to vote on equal terms, the state may not, by later arbitrary and disparate treatment, value one person’s vote over that of another.” Also, “the idea that one group can be granted greater voting strength than another is hostile to the one man, one vote basis of our representative government.” If Bush v Gore were followed faithfully by lower courts, and by the US Supreme Court itself, many problems that prevent voters from voting freely for a minor party or independent candidate could be swept away. Therefore, it is refreshing to find this most recent example of a lower court taking Bush v Gore seriously.
On April 20, the 9th circuit agreed to a rehearing en banc in Padilla v Lever, 03-56259. The original 9th circuit panel had ruled that petitions must be in languages other than English (if they circulate in areas in which ballots must be in other languages than English). The result had threatened the ballot status of several circulating initiatives. Now the case will be re-argued before eleven judges picked randomly. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.
On April 19, the California Senate Elections Committee heard one hour and forty minutes of testimony on AB 583, by Assemblywoman Loni Hancock, to establish public funding for state office. The Committee did not act on the bill, which would provide public funding for candidates who raised a certain number of $5 contributions from members of the public. The bill will be re-written and scheduled for a committee vote in the near future. Anyone can watch the testimony at caclean.org. C.T. Weber of the Peace & Freedom Party, and Richard Winger, who were the last two witnesses, were the only witnesses who complained about the fact that independent candidates and most minor party candidates would need twice as many qualifying contributions as other candidates.
