West Virginia State Trial Court Removes Independent Candidate from Ballot

Posted on by October 19, 2022
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On October 19, a West Virginia state trial court removed independent legislative candidate Harry “Lee” Forbes from the November 8 ballot. He is running in a State Senate district that has two Senators, one elected in presidential years and one in midterm years. A unique West Virginia law concerning multi-member legislative districts says if there are more than one county in the district, one of the legislators must live in a separate county from the other legislator. See this story. Forbes lives in the same county as the holdover incumbent.

One would have thought that Forbes could have promised to move to another county in the district if he were elected. West Virginia hasn’t elected anyone to the legislature who was not a Democratic or a Republican nominee since 1906. So a promise to move would probably be a safe bet. If he were elected and refused to keep his promise, the legislature would then be free to refuse to seat him.

Illinois Poll for Governor, U.S. Senator, and Attorney General

Posted on by October 19, 2022
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A Research America poll released on October 7 shows these Illinois results for three statewide races:

For Governor, Democratic 49.7%, Republican 27.7%, Libertarian 6.3%, the remainder undecided or won’t vote.

For U.S. Senate, Democratic 48.2%, Republican 28.5%, Libertarian 5.5%, the remainder undecided or won’t vote.

For Attorney General, Democratic 42.6%, Republican 25.2%, Libertarian 5.7%. See this news story. Thanks to Bill Redpath for the link.

Second Circuit Summarily Upholds New York Statewide Petition for Minor Party and Independent Candidates

Posted on by October 19, 2022
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On October 19, the Second Circuit issued an order upholding the New York state petition requirement that was passed in 2020, the increase from 15,000 signatures to 45,000 signatures. The decision is only a few sentences long and merely says the U.S. District Court did not commit any error when it upheld the law earlier this year. Libertarian Party of New York v New York State Board of Elections, 22-44. See it here. It won’t be reported. It is signed by Judges Jon O. Newman (a Carter appointee), John M. Walker (a Bush Sr. appointee), and Eunice C. Lee (a Biden appointee). Thanks to Candace Carpenter for the news.

North Carolina Files Brief in Lawsuit Over Composition of State Board of Elections

Posted on by October 18, 2022
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North Carolina law says the State Board of Elections is composed of five members, all of whom must be a registered member of one of the two largest parties. The major party that holds the governorship gets three members, and the other large party gets two members. UPDATE: see this story.

For some time, independent voters and their allies have been trying to win a lawsuit that says it violates the U.S. Constitution that an independent can never be on the board. The first such lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed, and a new lawsuit was filed by Common Cause earlier this year. The State officials who are being sued filed a brief on October 14, arguing that the plaintiffs don’t have standing. Here is the state’s brief. Common Cause v Moore, m.d., 1:22cv-611.