Eighth Circuit Sides With Arkansas Libertarians in Ballot-Access Suit | Courthouse News - Joe Harris:
June 18, 2020 = "Arkansas’ stringent election requirements to get on the ballot as a third party are likely unconstitutional, the Eighth Circuit ruled Thursday.
"Recent amendments to the law at issue nearly tripled the number of signatures needed for a new political party to appear on a ballot. State law previously dictated that a new party needed 10,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot. Now, parties seeking whole-ballot access need an amount that equals or is greater than 3% of the total votes cast in the state’s last gubernatorial election — which amounts to nearly 27,000.
"The Libertarian Party of Arkansas filed the lawsuit challenging the requirements in the Eastern District of Arkansas in March 2019. Arkansas appealed to the Eighth Circuit after U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker, a President Barack Obama appointee, granted preliminary injunctive relief, finding that the law was likely unconstitutional.
"Attorney James C. Linger, who represented the Libertarian Party, lauded the unanimous decision by the three-judge panel. 'It ends the thing for this election,' Linger said in an interview. 'The Libertarian Party will be on the ballot; all their candidates will be on the ballot. If it would have been reversed, they would have lost their candidates and everything for this election'....
"'We harbor serious doubt that the generalized desire to maintain the integrity of elections and prevent ballot overcrowding can be viewed as a compelling state interest when the prior version of the statute undisputedly succeeded at preventing ballot overcrowding,' Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Michael J. Melloy, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in the 21-page opinion. 'The evidence at the hearing showed that no party previously achieved access during the years in which Arkansas had a 3% requirement, and even during the many years in which Arkansas had a 10,000 signature requirement coupled with a more forgiving deadline, there was no crowding of the ballot.' Melloy continued, 'The state’s own expert witness acknowledged that only one or two new parties had ever qualified by petition under the 10,000 signature requirement. In fact, he opined that a ballot with two major parties and two additional parties appearing on a whole-ballot basis would not be crowded'....
"Arkansas passed similar laws in 1996 and 2006, only to have them both found to be unconstitutional. Linger said the state has been attempting to impose similar restrictions on third parties off and on for decades.... Linger plans on following up with motions for summary judgment to officially end the matter."
Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/eight-circuit-sides-with-arkansas-libertarians-in-ballot-access-suit/
June 18, 2020 = "Arkansas’ stringent election requirements to get on the ballot as a third party are likely unconstitutional, the Eighth Circuit ruled Thursday.
"Recent amendments to the law at issue nearly tripled the number of signatures needed for a new political party to appear on a ballot. State law previously dictated that a new party needed 10,000 voter signatures to get on the ballot. Now, parties seeking whole-ballot access need an amount that equals or is greater than 3% of the total votes cast in the state’s last gubernatorial election — which amounts to nearly 27,000.
"The Libertarian Party of Arkansas filed the lawsuit challenging the requirements in the Eastern District of Arkansas in March 2019. Arkansas appealed to the Eighth Circuit after U.S. District Judge Kristine G. Baker, a President Barack Obama appointee, granted preliminary injunctive relief, finding that the law was likely unconstitutional.
"Attorney James C. Linger, who represented the Libertarian Party, lauded the unanimous decision by the three-judge panel. 'It ends the thing for this election,' Linger said in an interview. 'The Libertarian Party will be on the ballot; all their candidates will be on the ballot. If it would have been reversed, they would have lost their candidates and everything for this election'....
"'We harbor serious doubt that the generalized desire to maintain the integrity of elections and prevent ballot overcrowding can be viewed as a compelling state interest when the prior version of the statute undisputedly succeeded at preventing ballot overcrowding,' Senior U.S. Circuit Judge Michael J. Melloy, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in the 21-page opinion. 'The evidence at the hearing showed that no party previously achieved access during the years in which Arkansas had a 3% requirement, and even during the many years in which Arkansas had a 10,000 signature requirement coupled with a more forgiving deadline, there was no crowding of the ballot.' Melloy continued, 'The state’s own expert witness acknowledged that only one or two new parties had ever qualified by petition under the 10,000 signature requirement. In fact, he opined that a ballot with two major parties and two additional parties appearing on a whole-ballot basis would not be crowded'....
"Arkansas passed similar laws in 1996 and 2006, only to have them both found to be unconstitutional. Linger said the state has been attempting to impose similar restrictions on third parties off and on for decades.... Linger plans on following up with motions for summary judgment to officially end the matter."
Read more: https://www.courthousenews.com/eight-circuit-sides-with-arkansas-libertarians-in-ballot-access-suit/
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