Michigan State Court Expedites Case over “Insurrection” Clause of 14th Amendment as Applied to Ryan Kelley, Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate

Posted on by July 16, 2022
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The Michigan State Court of Appeals that is handling the case over the “insurrection” clause is being expedited. All the briefs will have been filed by Wednesday, July 20. This is the case over whether Ryan Kelley is eligible to run for Governor of Michigan. He is a leading Republican, and might win the August 2 primary. Estes v Secretary of State, 362168.

Because the primary ballots have already been printed, the plaintiffs urge that if they win the case, and if Kelley wins the primary, that he be barred from the general election ballot. Estes had been arrested recently concerning his actions at the national Capitol on January 6, 2021.

California Secretary of State Releases Write-in Totals for Primary of June 7

Posted on by July 15, 2022
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On July 15, the California Secretary of State released the Statement of Votes for the June 7, 2022 primary. This is the first opportunity for the public to know the write-in totals. Eleven write-in candidates for legislature placed second, and thus will be on the November 2022 ballot. Of course, in all eleven instances, there was only one candidate whose name was on the primary ballot.

The eleven write-in candidates who will advance include eight Republicans, one Democrat, one Libertarian, and one independent.

The Republican write-in candidates who will advance are in these districts: State Senate 24, State Senate 26, and these Assembly districts: 14, 18, 41, 43, 48, and 54.

The Democrat advanced in Assembly district 9.

The Libertarian advanced in Assembly district 8.

The independent advanced in Assembly district 59.

U.S. District Court Sets Quick Status Conference for North Carolina Green Party Ballot Access Case

Posted on by July 15, 2022
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On July 15, U.S. District Court Judge James C. Dever set a status conference for the North Carolina Green Party ballot access case. It will be Monday, July 18, at 8:30 a.m. in Raleigh. The two-page scheduling order includes some language that suggests the judge considers ballot access for minor parties to be an essential element of voting rights. See it here.

Both Democratic and Republican Party Activists Ask to See Illinois Libertarian Statewide Petition

Posted on by July 15, 2022
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This year, the Libertarian Party was the only group in Illinois that filed a ballot access petition for statewide office. Both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party have visited the State Board of Elections office to obtain a copy of the Libertarian petition. If no one challenges the petition, the Libertarian Party is on the ballot for its statewide nominees, because Illinois election officials don’t validate petitions in the absence of a challenge.

The deadline for challenges is the end of the day, Monday, July 18.

The purpose of looking at the petition is for potential challengers to decide whether to go ahead with a challenge. There is always a little bit of motivation for Republicans to challenge Libertarian petitions. This year there may be some motivation for the Democratic Party as well, because the Libertarian nominee for Secretary of State is Jesse White. The Libertarian Jesse White happens to have the same name as the outgoing Secretary of State, Jesse White, who is a Democrat and who has always been very popular in Illinois, always winning with over 60% of the vote ever since his first election. The Democratic Secretary of State is retiring, so assuming the Libertarians appear on the ballot, the only Jesse White on the statewide ballot will be Libertarian Jesse White.