Search query: montana

The justices on the Supreme Court will consider taking up two cases challenging open primaries in Montana and Hawaii Thursday. The lawsuits were brought by the majority parties in each state (Democratic Party in Hawaii; Republican committees in Montana), both asserting that the open primary system severely burdens their First Amendment right to association. Up to this point, lower courts in both cases have ruled that neither the Democratic Party in Hawaii nor the Republican Party in Montana pre

Last week, Congress avoided a government shutdown by agreeing to a continuing resolution to keep the federal government funded for another week. Then over the weekend, US lawmakers agreed to a deal that will extend funding through September while Congress and the White House continue to negotiate longer-term fiscal policy priorities. The US House passed the budget deal Wednesday. But amidst Washington's annual kabuki theater dance around fiscal policy and possible government shutdowns, a litt

The Supreme Court of the United States will consider whether or not to take up two open primary cases in Montana and Hawaii at its May 11 conference. The cases were brought by the majority party in both states in an effort to get rid of the open primary process. Lower federal courts in both cases ruled that neither the Democratic Party of Hawaii nor the Republican Party of Montana were able to produce sufficient evidence that the open partisan primary process burdened their constitutional right

From the ongoing legal battle against the Commission on Presidential Debates to taking nonpartisan election reform to the nation's largest battleground state, here are 5 key stories on election and political reform from this week. 1. Appeals Court Hears Johnson/Stein Debate Commission Lawsuit The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear oral argument in Gov. Gary Johnson and Dr. Jill Stein's antitrust lawsuit against the Commission on Presidential Debates. The court agreed to hear t

On Monday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied Green Party candidate Thomas Breck's emergency motion requesting injunctive relief to be on the ballot in the special election to fill Montana's only congressional seat. Now, Breck is taking his case to the Supreme Court. Breck's campaign released the following press release Tuesday: On Monday April 17th the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the Montana Green Party candidate, Thomas Breck’s, emergency motion requesting inju

Independent and minor party candidates in Montana were handed a bittersweet victory in their bids to replace former Congressman Ryan Zinke. On April 8, Federal Judge Brian Morris ruled against Montana Secretary of State Cory Stapleton, finding that the signature requirement placed on non-major party candidates "severely burdens the constitutional rights of ballot access for independent candidates and minor party candidates." Green Party nominee Thomas Breck, independent candidate Steve Kelly,

The special election process to replace Congressman Ryan Zinke as Montana’s sole representative in the U.S. House is being challenged in court. Three plaintiffs are suing Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton, challenging the Big Sky state’s onerous ballot access rules and questionable election schedule. Green Party nominee Thomas Breck, independent candidate Steve Kelly, and Green Party voter Danielle Breck filed the suit earlier this month. Their primary contention is the signature requ

At no time in history has the issue of “open v. closed primaries” been so prominent in the national discussion as it is today. This is, in large part, because Bernie Sanders made it a plank of his presidential campaign. But it is also a consequence of an important reality: independent voters are the fastest growing segment of the electorate, by far. Yet, the first and highly important stage of our election process most often serves the exclusive benefit of the voters who choose to join one of t

The U.S. Supreme Court might be headed toward a major decision regarding partisan open primary elections. In two court cases, the Republican and Democratic parties, respectively, have challenged the constitutionality of partisan open primaries. The Republican case was brought in Montana, where the GOP controls the legislature. The Democratic case is in Hawaii, where the Democratic Party controls the legislature. In both cases, the parties argue that allowing nonpartisan voters to participate in

As reported on IVN this week, the Supreme Court will be considering two legal efforts to shut out voters from publicly-funded primaries: Ravalli County Republican Party v McCulloch and Democratic Party of Hawaii v Nago. McCulloch and Nago are the respective secretaries of state for their particular states, but the lawsuits might as well be called the Two Major Parties v The People.Hawaii and Montana are by all means two very different states. Hawaii is basically a one-party state, where the Demo