On September 8, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Cohen expedited the lawsuit Graham v Carr, n.d., 1:22cv-3613. This is the Georgia Libertarian Party case that challenges the Georgia unequal contribution limits. The law lets Democratic and Republican candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor received unlimited donations, whereas other candidates for those offices in the general election cannot receive more than $7,600 from any one individual.
The state’s response is due September 16.
On September 12, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy signed SB 161, which eases the definition of a qualified party. The old law required registration equal to 3% of the last vote cast, and was the nation’s most severe registration test for party status except for Pennsylvania’s 15%. The new law requires exactly 5,000 registrations.
The immediate effect is to restore the Libertarian Party’s qualified status, which will save it from having to petition for its presidential nominee.
Eleven Alaska legislative candidates withdrew from the general election before the deadline to withdraw last week. See this story.
Despite the withdrawals, there are still legislative candidates from six parties: Republican, Democratic, Libertarian, Alaskan Independence, Constitution, and Veterans.
On September 6, a Nevada state trial court ruled that the Libertarian Party’s nominee for Attorney General should remain on the ballot. John Kennedy, the nominee, is not a member of the Nevada bar. A law passed in 2021 requires candidates for Attorney General to be members of the Bar.
Kennedy himself is willing to withdraw, but he will remain on the ballot because the decision says that withdrawal is too late, and also that the challenger should have acted much sooner. See this story.
On September 9, the New York State Supreme Court, Appellate Division, declined to put the Libertarian slate of statewide candidates on the ballot. Here is the eight-page order.
