Wyoming Legislative Committee Declines to Introduce Top-Four Bill

On Friday, October 14, the Wyoming Joint Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee defeated 23LSO-0192, a proposal for a top-four system, in which parties would no longer have nominees, except for presidential electors.

The Wyoming legislature is not in session, but many committees are holding interim hearings. If the top-four measure had received support from the committee, then the committee would have become the sponsor of the bill in the 2023 session.

Last Phase of Georgia Ballot Access Case Begins

On October 5, U.S. District Court Judge Leigh Martin May issued an order in Cowen v Raffensperger, 1:17cv-4660. This is the case over Georgia’s ballot access requirements for U.S. House, for independent and minor party candidates. The order says both sides will submit a proposed scheduling order by October 19.

The reason the case is still alive is that the courts still haven’t ruled on whether the petition requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment. Originally the U.S. District Court had found that the law violates the First Amendment, and did not consider the Fourteenth Amendment issue. Then the Eleventh Circuit had reversed the U.S. District Court on the First Amendment, and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear that part of the case.