On December 1, the Eighth Circuit again upheld the wording on the Minnesota petition form that is used by independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties. The petition says that the signer does not intend to vote in the upcoming primary for the particular office that the independent candidate is running for.

The decision was not surprising, because the same court had earlier upheld the wording in a Libertarian Party case.

The wording makes it more difficult to collect signatures. But the state and the courts always says the wording has no teeth, because taken literally, it doesn’t prevent anyone from both signing and then voting in the primary. The petition wording relates to the individual’s present state of mind, but of course the individual is free to change his or her mind later. Furthermore because voting is secret, no one can know whether a primary voter votes for any particular office in the primary.

The Minnesota Libertarian Party is lobbying to get the wording on the petition changed, and believes it will get a bill introduced in 2024. Thanks to Derek Muller for this news. Here is the decision in Independent-Alliance Party of Minnesota v Simon, 23-1074. It is only eight pages.

On December 1, the U.S. House expelled Congressman George Santos, who had represented New York’s Third District, on Long Island. The special election to fill his seat will be in February. New York law permits party committees to choose nominees in special elections, so no primary need be held. See this Politico story about the process.