On September 6, some Colorado voters filed a lawsuit in state court to bar former President Donald Trump from the March 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot. Anderson v Griswold, state district court, Denver. See the filing here. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.
On a Libertarian National Committee Executive Committee Zoom meeting on Wednesday, September 6, 2023, Libertarian Party of Maine Chair Harrison Kemp reported that the LPME now has about 2,500 registered voters, with another 1,500 voter registration cards about to be turned in to the state for validation. Projecting about an 80% validity rate on those new voter registrations, the LPME would have about 3,700 registered voters, or about 1,300 short of the 5,000 needed to be a recognized political party in Maine.
If the 5,000 figure is achieved, the LPME would become a recognized political party in Maine, which would entitle the LPME to place the Libertarian Party’s 2024 presidential ticket on the ballot in Maine, and make possible for down ticket candidates to get on the ballot with fewer signatures than if the LPME were not a recognized party in Maine.
The LNC’s Executive Committee voted to encumber $7,500 for this voter registration drive, which the LPME Chair thinks will be completed by November 2023.
On September 5, a U.S. District Court declined to force the city of Warren, Michigan, to let its Mayor, James Fouts, run for another term. Fouts v Warren City Council, e.d., 2:23dv-11868. Here is the opinion.
The city’s term limits law for Mayor was changed twice in the past. It went from allowing three terms, to allowing five terms, and then back to allowing only three terms. Fouts has already served four terms. After the Michigan state courts interpreted the term limits law to apply to this year’s election, Fouts filed a federal case, alleging that the restriction violates the U.S. Constitution, because the change could be said to have applied retroactively to him. The U.S. District Court agrees that Fouts has a right to go to federal court, because the issues in his federal case are different than the issues in his state case. But he said the U.S. Constitution does not protect Fouts from the term limits law, despite the apparent retroactive application to him. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.
As to the argument that Fouts filed his federal case too late, the court said there is no need to discuss that issue, given its analysis of the main issue. The federal lawsuit was filed only a few days before the August 8 primary.
Americans Coming Together was a party organized only in West Virginia, 2022-to the present. The party’s leader had been S. Marshall Wilson, a former two-term West Virginia legislator. Wilson has joined the Constitution Party and will be its nominee for Governor in 2024. In 2022, as an ACT nominee, he polled 39.7% of the vote for Delegate, 27th district. That was the highest percentage obtained by any minor party nominee for West Virginia legislature since before World War II. Also, in 2020, Wilson was a write-in candidate for Governor, and he polled 1.93%. Thanks to Jeff Becker for this news.
The Constitution Party holds a national committee meeting in St. Louis, Oct. 20-21. On October 21, much of the time will be given to a talk by General Michael Flynn, who was President Donald Trump’s first National Security Advisor.
