North Carolina State Election Board Appeals in Constitution Party Campaign Finance Fine Case

Posted on by July 21, 2022
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On July 21, the North Carolina State Board of Elections filed an appeal in N.C. State Bd. of Elections v Pisano for Governor. The appeal is from a ruling of an Administrative Law Judge that Al Pisano, the Constitution Party’s gubernatorial candidate in 2020, should not be fined for being late with his campaign finance report.

The state is obviously spending more money on this case than it would recover if the fine were collected. Here is the state’s brief. It is filed in Superior Court in Mecklenburg County. Thanks to Kevin Hayes for the link.

New Jersey State Trial Court Interprets “Sore Loser” Law to Bar Independents if they Were Write-in Candidates in a Primary

Posted on by July 21, 2022
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On July 21, a New Jersey state trial court ruled that the “sore loser” law even applies to write-in candidates in primaries. Joseph Abutel had been a write-in candidate in the June 2022 primary for Township Committee in Colts Neck. He did not win the primary but filed a petition to be on the November ballot as an independent candidate. But the judge ruled that the sore loser law applies to write-in primary candidates, and said he is not eligible to be an independent candidate.

New Jersey does not have a law pertaining to write-in candidates filing a write-in declaration of candidacy. There is no official list of write-in candidates in either primaries or general elections. Therefore, if this ruling is upheld, in the future, anyone who tries to be an independent candidate in November, but who received write-in votes in a primary, is at risk of being disqualified. See this story.