Friday, June 21, 2019

AZ law designed to keep Libertarians off ballot upheld on appeal

Law Libertarians Contend Targets Their Candidates Upheld | Arizona News | US News - Associated Press:
May 31, 2019 - "A state law that the Libertarian Party contends was designed to keep its candidates off Arizona ballots has been upheld by a federal appeals court.... [The] 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments from the Libertarian Party that the law increasing the number of qualifying signatures party candidates need violates their constitutional rights.

"The 2015 law backed by Republicans had a major impact. Only one Libertarian seeking to run for the state Legislature or Congress made the ballot in 2016 compared to 18 in 2004. Former Libertarian Party chairman Michael Kielsky has said Republicans created a law 'laser-focused' on his party because they believed Libertarians were draining votes from GOP candidates."
Read more: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arizona/articles/2019-05-31/law-libertarians-contend-targets-their-candidates-upheld

Ninth Circuit puts kibosh on Libertarian fight of Arizona election rules - Nathan Solis, Tucson Sentinel:
May 31, 2019 - "In 2015, Arizona changed its signature requirements to increase the number of signatures needed on nomination petitions to qualify candidates for placement on ballots. While parties with open primaries can collect signatures from registered party members, independents and unaffiliated voters, parties with a closed primary – like the Libertarian Party in Arizona  – can only take signatures from registered Libertarians....

"In 2017, a federal judge granted summary judgment to the state.... And ... on Friday a Ninth Circuit panel agreed. U.S. Circuit Judge M. Margaret McKeown wrote ... 'The state’s signature requirements are reasonable restrictions that impose, at most, a modest burden on the Libertarian Party’s First and Fourteenth Amendment rights, while directly advancing Arizona’s important regulatory interests'....

"The panel also rejected the party’s argument that the requirement is impossible since there are over 32,000 registered Libertarians in the state. 'Libertarian candidates can qualify for the primary ballot with signatures from 11% to 30% of party members in their jurisdictions, and no evidence suggests it is impossible to do so as a practical matter,' McKeown wrote."
Read more: http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/053119_az_libertarians_case/ninth-circuit-puts-kibosh-libertarian-fight-arizona-election-rules/
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