Federal Judiciary

UPDATE: State sees problem in ballot exclusion

By Akin Gump Supreme Court Practice Group

UPDATE 6:05 p.m.

State officials in Maine told a Supreme Court Justice Tuesday that the state’s interests in running elections do not require “a sweeping remedy” that would have the effect of keeping an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate off the Nov. 4 election ballot.   Lawyers in the state attorney general’s office, representing the Secretary of State of Maine, added that the ballot exclusion sought by state Democratic leaders raises “a serious constitutional issue.”  If anything is done by the Supreme Court to keep the candidate on the ballot, it must be done by no later than Aug. 29, the officials said. The filing can be found here.

In contrast, the chair of the state’s Democratic Party said in a separate filing that Supreme Court intervention at this point would bring a “great intrusion on state sovereignty.”  Moreover, the chair, John Knutson, said the steps taken to exclude the non-party candidate from the general election ballot raise– at this stage — only state law issues, not federal constitutional questions.  The Maine law applied in this case, Knutson contended, “easily meets” the only legal test involved — “a test of reasonableness….This Court has repeatedly held that states have wide latittude to regulate the electoral process,” subject only to that test.

These documents were filed in response to an order last Friday by Justice David H. Souter, who is considering a plea by the independent Senate candidate, Herbert J. Hoffman, for a stay of a Maine Supreme Court ruling that would have the effect of keeping him off the ballot.

The following is a post from earlier in the day Tuesday:

Lawyers for an independent candidate for the U.S. Senate argued on Tuesday that a Supreme Court Justice has clear authority to order the state of Maine to put his name on the ballot for the Nov. 4 election, to compete with incumbent Republican Susan Collins and Democratic nominee Rep. Tom Allen.

In a response to an order last Friday by Justice David H. Souter (see this earlier post), attorneys for non-party challenger Herbert J. Hoffman said there are two ways that the Court has available that could assure him ballot access.  First, a stay of a July 28 Maine Supreme Court decision would put back into effect a ruling by the Maine Secretary of State that Hoffman has qualified for the ballot, the new filing said.  Second, it suggested, ballot access could be assured by a direct order to the Secretary of State to list Hoffman.

The supplemental filing can be read here.

Later today, the Maine Secretary of State and the state chairman of the Democratic Party are to file responses to the Souter order, discussing the same issues that Hoffman’s filing considered, plus replies to his argument that his constitutional rights and those of Maine voters would be violated if he is now kept off the ballot.  (The blog will post those replies as they become available.)

As of now, Justice Souter is considering the Hoffman stay application, but he has the option of sharing it with his colleagues.

Full post as published by SCOTUSBLOG on August 19, 2008 (boomark / email).