The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that the state of Arizona could not require independent candidates to register earlier than major party candidates was upheld yesterday, when the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt to overturn that decision. Here is an excerpt:
LOS ANGELES, March 9 /PRNewswire/ — In a significant move for open-election laws, the U.S. Supreme Court today rejected an attempt to overturn a federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that the state of Arizona could not require independent presidential candidates to register earlier than candidates affiliated with major political parties.
Arizona’s petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court had been closely watched after 13 other states supported Arizona’s bid to have the High Court hear the case. The federal civil rights case, originally filed in Arizona federal district court, stems from Nader’s 2004 presidency bid.
The full article can be found here. Source: PRNewswire.
From yesterdays Columbus Dispatch:
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2009/03/10/copy/caprules.html
The U.S. Supreme Court refused yesterday to hear a case that affects ballot-eligibility rules for independent presidential candidates in Ohio and other states. Consumer crusader and former candidate Ralph Nader had challenged the rules.
The high court is letting stand a lower-court decision that invalidated state laws requiring those who circulate petitions for an independent presidential candidate to be state residents, according to the published reports.
Nader was thrown off the 2004 ballot in Ohio on the grounds that he lacked enough valid signatures after a hearing officer found that Nader used petition circulators who were not Ohio residents or registered to vote in the state, as required by law.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in the fall that those residency and registration restrictions are unconstitutional and that Nader’s First Amendment rights were violated.
Arizona, which also had a June filing deadline for the November election, appealed a similar ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Ohio was one of 13 states that joined the case to defend their ballot rules.
If I understood this correctly, this is really a great moment for 3rd parties.
Hooray!
Alrighty.
I’m seventeen and live in LA County – luckily far from Los Angeles. I’m a registered Libertarian, although I disagree with a few things in their platform. In a nutshell, I’m socially libertarian, and fiscally more of a progressive or socialist.
Morgan,
Great first article! Give us a little introduction, if you dont mind. Location, age, political affilliations, etc.
Morgan,
This is my first post on here. Hope you all like it!