LeRoy Jones, chair of the New Jersey Democratic Party, has this op-ed, in which he declares himself opposed to the ballot format used in most New Jersey counties, in primaries, that puts the party’s favored candidate a far more prominent spot on the ballot. Thanks to David Sturrock for the link.
On March 13, the Maine Senate passed LD 1578, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. It had passed the House on March 5. Maine is the first state to have passed the pact in several years. It is assumed Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, will sign the bill.
In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court, in Federal Election Commission v Colorado Republican Campaign Committee, 533 U.S. 431, upheld limits on how much national and state political parties may spend in support of their own congressional nominees (unless the national party spending is not coordinated with the candidate). The vote was 5-4. The Republican National Senate and House Campaign Committees are in court, hoping to win a reversal of the 2001 ruling.
The Republican commitees filed in U.S. District Court in the southern district of Ohio in 2022. On January 19, 2024, the U.S. District Court sent the case to the Sixth Circuit. Challenges to most federal campaign finance laws are entitled to be heard in Appeals Courts, bypassing trial courts, if the case is deemed not to be frivolous. The FEC had argued that the case is frivolous because the issue had been decided in 2001, but the U.S. District Court still sent the case on to the Sixth Circuit. The FEC had also argued that the case should be in the Circuit Court in Washington, D.C., but that argument was also rejected.
The Republican campaign committees have many amici on their side. One is filed by the states of Ohio, Alaska, Arkansas, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah (all these states have Republican Attorneys General). One is filed by U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell. One is filed by the Institute for Free Speech. In the Sixth Circuit the case is number 24-3051.
On February 20, the Oklahoma House Rules Committee passed HJR 1054, which would require initiatives to meet the petition requirement in every county. The bill is sponsored by Representative David Hardin (R-Stilwell). If the bill passes, then the voters would vote on the idea. Thanks to Richard Prawdienzki for this news.
On March 11, a 3-judge panel of the Superior Court of Wake County struck down a 2023 North Carolina law that ended the Governor’s ability to appoint members of the State Board of Elections. The 2023 law gave the appointment power to the state legislature. Cooper v Berger, 23cv-029308-910.
Here is the opinion. The decision determines that the Board of Elections is an executive body, and under the separation of powers in the state Constitution, the Governor cannot be shut out of making the appointments.
