Georgia Governor Signs Bill Eliminating Public Service Commission Elections in 2024

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On April 18, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed HB 1312. Among other things, it says there will be no Public Service Commission elections this year. The state has five commissioners, all elected in partisan statewide elections. They have six-year staggered terms and normally there would be a seat open this year, and in every even year. The rationale for the bill is that a U.S. District Court judge had ruled that the elections had to be in districts, although the Eleventh Circuit then overturned that.

It is somewhat likely that a lawsuit will be filed to reinstate the 2024 election for Public Service Commission, because the State Constitution mandates an election, and there is no good reason why there should not be an election this year for that office.

If the office is not restored to the November 2024 ballot, it will be difficult for the Libertarian Party to retain its status as a party that is ballot-qualified for statewide office. The only other statewide office up this year is President, and the Georgia Libertarian Party has only once polled enough votes for president to retain its status. That was in 2016. The requirement is votes equal to 1% of the number of registered voters, which generally works out to 1.5% of the total vote cast in a presidential election year.

Democratic Nominee for U.S. House in Colorado Special Election Wins Ballot Access Lawsuit

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On April 24, a Denver District Court kept Democratic nominee Trisha Calvarese on the ballot in the special election for U.S. House, District 4, set for June 25. Glasser v Griswold, 2024=cv=31103. The challenger had argued that Calvarese should not be on the ballot because she has not been a registered Democrat in Colorado during the twelve months before the party nominated her. Calvarese was a registered voter in Virginia during part of that period, and was a Virginia resident. Virginia doesn’t have registration by party so while she was living there she couldn’t possibly be a registered Democrat.

The state court ruled that she should remain on the ballot. Here is the 19-page decision.

Connecticut Legislature is No Longer Trying to Ban “Independent” as Part of a Party’s Name

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As originally introduced, Connecticut HB 5498 made it illegal for any party to have “Independent” as part of its name. However, the Independent Party has successfully managed to get that part of the bill deleted. The bill has many other election law provisions relating to ballot-counting and it will probably pass, but without the section on party names.

U.S. District Court Won’t Grant Injunctive Relief to Catoosa County Republican Party, in Candidate Exclusion Case

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On April 23, U.S. District Court Judge William Ray, a Trump appointee, refused injunctive relief to the Catoosa County Republican Party. The party wanted some candidates for County Commission excluded from the Republican primary ballot of May 21. The party claims the candidates are not bona fide Republicans. Catoosa County Republican Party v Catoosa County Board of Elections, 4:24cv-95.

The judge said the party filed its federal lawsuit too late, and also doubted that the party’s freedom of association would be injured if the candidates remained on the ballot. He also noted that the party has a similar case pending in the Georgia Supreme Court, although that court won’t hear the case until after the primary.

The ruling also rejected the party’s attempt to place some ballot measures on the primary ballot, partly because of time constraints, and also because the ballot measures implied that the challenged candidates are really “anti-Trump Democrats”. Although parties have a right to place advisory questions on their own primary ballots, the questions aren’t permitted if they relate to candidates whose names are appearing on the same primary ballot.

Georgia does not have registration by party.

Constitution Party Chooses a Presidential Nominee in Two Days, Yet National News Media Seem Unaware

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The Constitution Party national convention will choose a presidential nominee on Saturday, April 27, in Salt Lake City. There is a somewhat surprising lack of news in mainstream media about the upcoming convention. The party’s presidential nominee will probably be on the ballot in more states than Cornel West, and yet national polls often include West and never include any Constitution Party potential nominee. The two leading candidates for the party’s nomination appear to be Randall Terry (long-time activist against legal abortion) and Joel Skousen, part of a famous family.