On September 29, John Anthony Castro dismissed his Oklahoma lawsuit, Castro v Ziriax, w.d., 5:23cv-781. Castro is the Republican presidential candidate who has filed many lawsuits to keep former President Donald Trump off Republican presidential primary ballots.
On October 2 he dismissed his North Carolina case, Castro v Bell, e.d., 5:23cv-496.
On October 4, U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema denied relief to plaintiffs in Perry-Bey v Trump, e.d., 1:23cv-1165, unless and until they prove that they served former President Donald Trump with the paperwork connected with the lawsuit. Here is the order.
On October 4, the Green Party affiliate in Alaska, which is called the Aurora Party, submitted a petition to the Alaska Division of Elections to be a “Limited Political Party.” This is a category of party that is on the ballot for president but no other office. This is the first petition drive the Green Party has completed this year for 2024.
On October 5, a 3-judge U.S. District Court chose a redistricting plan for Alabama U.S. House districts. Singleton v Allen, m.d., 2:21cv-1530. The new map can be seen at the end of the 40-page decision. Compared with the districts that were in place in 2022, which were drawn by the legislature, only two districts have new boundaries. The two Black-majority districts are the Second (which has Montgomery and the black-majority counties in the region known as the “Black Belt”) and the Seventh, which has Birmingham.
It would have been impossible for any independent candidate for the two districts that changed to have been petitioning before today, because signatures can only come from inside the district, and no one knew what the district boundaries were going to be. Normally an independent candidate in Alabama has an unlimited amount of time in which to petition. Under several districts from states inside the Eleventh Circuit, it is unconstitutional for Alabama to require petitioning candidates to obtain the normal number of signatures, when the time to get them is curtailed.
In 1982, the Eleventh Circuit ruled in a Georgia case that the Citizens Party must be granted a more time because the normal petition period wasn’t available. Citizens Party v Poythress, 82-8411. In 2002, a U.S. District Court in Georgia cut the number of signatures for U.S. House by 33% due to late redistricting having curtailed the amount of time. Parker v Barnes, n.d., 1:02cv-1883. There are two similar cases from Florida. And, most important for Alabama, in 2016 a U.S. District Court ruled that Alabama must provide relief when the normal petitioning period is not available. Hall v Bennett, 212 F.Supp.3d 1148. That case involved a special election, not late reditsricting, but the same principle applies. In 2018 the Eleventh Circuit ruled that the U.S. District Court should not have entertained the case because it was moot, but the Eleventh Circuit did not criticize the holding. In Hall v Bennett, there was a dispute on whether the independent candidate for U.S. House should have started as soon as the special election was announced, or whether he should have waited until the date of the special election had been set, but the decision said it didn’t matter whether the candidate had 56 days or 106 days; either way the state should have cut the number of signatures or extended the deadline.
Based on these precedents, any petitioning candidate for U.S. House in Alabama has a strong case that the normal number of signatures (approximately 5,000) should be substantially reduced, or the March 2024 deadline extended.
Hot off the electronic press, here is a story from The Hill.
Here is his statement: “We stand at a crossroads in our nation’s history, where our corporate-funded system is unable and unwilling to solve the political problems poor and working people face. I entered this race to challenge the hegemony of the two ruling parties. The never-ending dance between Republicans and Democrats that leaves millions of our friends and neighbors without housing, health care, decent jobs, clean air, clean water, nutritious food, and a healthy environment.
Our Constitution provides for independent candidates to gain ballot access in all states, and I ave begun seeking ballot access as an independent, unaffiliated with any political party.
I nod in solidarity to the Green Party for their shared values and commitment to justice. But my quest for the presidency belongs to the people. I believe the best way to challenge the entrenched system is by focusing 100% on the people, not on the intricacies of internal party dynamics.”
