Ohio Democratic Party Wins Lawsuit on Substituting a New Nominee When Prior Nominee Withdraws

Posted on by October 14, 2022
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On October 11, the Ohio Supreme Court ordered the Secretary of State to let the Democratic Party replace its nominee for State House, 94th district. State ex rel Conrath v LaRose, 2022-Oh-3594. At the August 2022 primary, only one Democrat had been on the ballot, and he withdrew shortly after the primary was over. The Secretary of State refused to let the Democratic Party substitute a new nominee, because the primary results had not yet been certified. But the Democratic Party couldn’t wait for the certification, because if it had, the substitution action would have been too late. It was obvious what the results of the primary would be, because there had been only one candidate on the primary ballot, and no declared write-in candidates.

The vote was 4-3. The majority and the minority opinions are quite heated. There have been many 4-3 election law decisions by the Ohio Supreme Court this year; that court is very polarized. Here is the Opinion.

U.S. Supreme Court Conference Today Considers American Samoa Citizenship Case

Posted on by October 14, 2022
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At its October 14 conference, the U.S. Supreme Court considers whether to hear Fitisemanu v U.S., 21-1394. This is the case over whether the language of the Fourteenth Amendment means that persons born in American Samoa are citizens, even if they don’t go through the naturalization process. The case was brought in Utah by a Samoan-born adult who wanted to register to vote in Utah, where he lives. He was denied the ability to register to vote because he was born in American Samoa.

The Fourteenth Amendment says, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States.” However, Congress passed a law long ago that says they are not citizens, unless they go through naturalization. They are only U.S. “nationals.” They do have U.S. passports.

No news about the U.S. Supreme Court action will be available until Monday, October 17, at the earliest. The Court might ponder the case but make no decision for a while.

Seventh Circuit Will Hear Illinois Ballot Access Case on December 5

Posted on by October 13, 2022
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The Seventh Circuit will hear Gill v Scholz on December 5, Monday. This is the case that challenges the 5% petition for independent candidates, and the nominees of unqualified parties, for U.S. House. It is a very old case; it had been filed in 2016.

The state argues that the case is moot because since 2016, the districts have new boundaries.

Portland (Oregon) Tribune Endorses Single Transferable Vote Initiative

Posted on by October 13, 2022
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On November 8, Portland, Oregon voters will decide whether to pass an initiative to change future city council elections. The initiative provides for single transferable voting, which is a form of proportional representation. There would be four city council districts, each electing three members. Candidates with slightly more than 25% support would be elected. Thus minority as well as majority viewpoints would be represented on the council.

The Portland Tribune endorsed the measure in its October 13 issue. The Portland Tribune is a free weekly print publication. Thanks to Fairvote for this news. The editorial itself is behind a pay wall.