On September 11, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear Romanelli v Caroselli, 132 MM 2006. The issue is whether anyone eligible to register to vote may sign a petition for a minor party or independent candidate, or whether only registered voters may sign. If one reads the Pennsylvania Constitution and the Pennsylvania election code, both seem to say clearly that anyone eligible to register may sign. Ralph Nader raised the same issue in 2004, but the State Supreme Court refused to rule on it since he hadn’t raised that point in the lower court. In the new case, Romanelli did raise it in the lower court, which rejected the claim.

On September 9, the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian Party candidates for Governor of Colorado debated each other in Grand Junction. Two other candidates for Governor who are on the ballot, the Constitution Party nominee, as well as independent Paul Fiorino, were not permitted to debate.

The Working Families Party’s ballot access case will be heard in federal court on September 11 at 2 p.m. The issue is whether the party (which the state admits is a qualified party) is permitted to nominate candidates this year. The party followed the law, which permits a party to submit its petition no later than six months before the general election. But the state says if a new party wants to nominate any candidates in its first year on the ballot, it must really submit the petition much earlier.

The state lost on this issue in 1996, in a lawsuit won by the Natural Law Party. In 1996, the state admitted it was wrong, and didn’t contest the lawsuit. This year the state says should never have given in, back in 1996. The hearing is before Judge Cameron McGowan, a Clinton appointee.