One of the big hurdles alternative parties and independent candidates face in trying to get on the ballot are state rules about where and when ballot access petitions can be circulated. A couple of court cases are currently addressing these issues, discussed at Ballot Access News. The first story is about a petitioners rights victory from the 9th circuit.
On December 1, the 9th circuit issued its opinion in Dietrich v John Ascuaga’s Nugget, 06-17135. The issue was whether petitioning should still be allowed on public sidewalks, when a private organization has rented a public square that abuts those public sidewalks. The decision says that just because a private organization has taken temporary control (for a day, or a weekend) of a public space, that does not mean the public space is no longer available for First Amendment activity.
The decision acknowledges that the private organization may have an interest in making it plain that it is not associated with whatever individual or group is petitioning, but says if that is a concern, the private organization is free to post a sign saying it is not associated with the petitioning. In this case, the petitioners were working on a recall petition, and the public sidewalks and public square had been temporarily rented out to the “Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-Off.” The decision commented that it was unlikely that any passerby would assume the recall petition is associated with the Cook-Off.
The other story is Montana Wants to Help Arizona Defend Early Petition Deadline in U.S. Supreme Court. Early deadlines make it difficult to get on the ballot, especially in states like Montana, which tends to have inclement weather in March, but even in states such as Arizona, as campaigns are often not yet organized or just getting organized around that time.
In July 2008, the 9th circuit ruled that Arizona’s independent petition deadline of early June is unconstitutional, at least as applied to independent presidential candidates. Arizona recently asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review that decision. Now, Montana’s Attorney General has notified all sides to the Arizona case that Montana intends to file an amicus curiae brief on the side of the Arizona law.
Montana itself moved its independent candidate deadline (for office other than president) from June to March in 2007, and is currently defending that March deadline in U.S. District Court.