This story from reason.com has nothing to do with the repressive ballot access laws that exist in many states, but it so reminded me of them.
https://www.reason.com/2023/06/16/companies-shouldnt-have-the-right-to-veto-their-competition
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Richard Winger blogged yesterday about Friday’s Ohio Supreme Court ruling allowing August 8, 2023 to be the date for a statewide election on amending the Ohio Constitution to require a 60% “Yes” vote on future proposed amendments to the Ohio Constitution to pass. There are other provisions that are part of the package to be voted on that will make it much harder to amend the Ohio Constitution and that are clearly designed to cement power in the state with the state legislature, which is currently dominated by the Republican Party.
Here are two news stories on this development:
https://reviewtimes.com/news/465354/high-court-clears-august-election-in-ohio/
On June 15, an attorney for the Michigan Libertarian defendants filed paperwork with a U.S. District Court to represent those defendants. He is Nick Curcio. The case is Libertarian National Committee v Saliba, e.d., 5:23cv-11074.
According to this news story, there are at least four local elections in Monroe County, New York, in which Republicans are hoping to get the Working Families Party nomination as well, even though the WFP local officials oppose these candidacies.
On June 16, the Ohio Supreme Court issued a 4-3 opinion in State ex rel One Person One Vote v LaRose, 2023-Ohio-1992. The majority said the state may hold an election in August 2023 for voters to decide whether to make it more difficult for constitutional initiatives to get on the ballot and to pass. There is no statute that authorizes the timing of such an election, but the majority said it is implicit in the state constitution.
Here is the decision.