The Moderate Party of New Jersey is in state court, arguing that the state’s ban on fusion violates the State Constitution. The party and the state agree that the case should not be expedited. See this story. It will proceed after this year’s election.
On August 23, the Connecticut Independent Party, which is ballot-qualified for most state and federal offices, held its nominating convention. The apparent result is that the party nominated Rob Hotaling for Governor, instead of the Republican nominee Bob Stefanowski. However, the process is contested and will result in a lawsuit. See this story.
The Independent Party of Connecticut nominated its own member for Governor in 2010, but it nominated the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 2014 and 2018. Thanks to Fairvote for the link.
Alaska held its top-four primary on August 16. For U.S. House, Republican Tara Sweeney finished fourth with 3.71% of the vote, thus entitling her to appear on the November ballot. But on August 23, she withdrew. Because she withdrew as early as she did, the law says the fifth-place finisher can take her place on the November ballot. Chris Bye, a Libertarian, had finished fifth with .63% of the vote, so he can run in November. See this story.
The other three candidates are two Republicans (Sarah Palin and Nick Begich) and Democrat Mary Peltola. Thanks to J. R. Myers for this news.
On August 23, John Wood, independent centrist candidate for U.S. Senate in Missouri, withdrew his candidacy. He had collected the 10,000 required signatures to be on the ballot before the primary was held. At the Republican Senate primary, Eric Greitens was defeated, so the Wood candidacy has less importance. This is an example of why states should have independent candidate deadlines at least a month after the primary is over, so potential independents can make an informed choice about whether to run. Thanks to Ken Bush for the news.
On August 19, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Brooks, an Obama appointee, struck down a fairly new Arkansas law that makes it a crime for anyone (other than a polling place official) to assist more than six voters at the polls for any given election. Arkansas United v Thurston, w.d., 5:20cv-5193. Here is the Opinion.
The plaintiff organization specializes in helping immigrant voters. Volunteers for the organization arrange to meet voters at the polls. Most of the assistance involves translation assistance. The ruling finds that the law is barred by the federal Voting Rights Act. Thanks to Michael Drucker for news about the decision.
