A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a 2014 lawsuit brought by three independent candidates for office in Arkansas who claimed a state law unfairly limited their access to the ballot, even though he said their arguments had merit.
In a 13-page written ruling, U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. said Mark Moore of Benton County and Michael Harrod of Washington County, who in 2014 ran for lieutenant governor and the District 84 House of Representatives seat, respectively, had standing as voters to bring the lawsuit, even if they are no longer candidates.
A third plaintiff, William Chris Johnson, who was a contender for county judge in White County, later moved to Arizona and dropped out of the suit.
The plaintiffs took issue with Act 1356 of 2013, which shortened the time period for independent candidates to turn in petitions to get their names on the ballot. The petition process starts 90 days before the filing period begins. Independent candidates previously had until May 1 to turn in their petitions, and now, under the 2013 law, must submit them by March 1.
While independent candidates must gather signatures, usually a number equal to 3 percent of registered voters, Democratic and Republican candidates pay a filing fee to the state party to file for state or federal office.
Deputy Secretary of State A.J. Kelly, an attorney who represented Secretary of State Mark Martin, said during oral arguments July 27 that the new deadline was established to effectively manage elections while conforming with federal laws. He denied that the change was meant to discriminate against independent candidates.
Kelly argued that the plaintiffs lacked standing -- a personal stake in the outcome of the lawsuit -- and that the issue is moot because the election is over. But Moody said the plaintiffs successfully argued that they have standing as citizens and that the issue is capable of being repeated, so it is not moot.
"The fact that independent candidates have to get signatures on a petition within a certain time frame to be eligible for inclusion on the ballot reduces the risk that candidates who are not supported by the community or who are not serious about their candidacy will be included on the ballot," Moody said. But, he added, there is no evidence that Arkansas legislators moved up the filing deadline to further that goal.
He also said that while the March 1 deadline is "a burden of some substance" on an independent candidate's right to ballot access and a voter's right to support the voter's candidate of choice, he also had to consider whether the secretary provided a "compelling reason" for the earlier deadline.
He then cited the secretary's "most legitimate argument for the extension," which was that with an increase in nonindependent candidates, mostly judges, filing petitions instead of paying filing fees as they did before, and with an increased number of initiative petitions, "there is simply not enough time to process all of the petitions within the May 1st deadline," especially with the time consumed by "ever increasing litigation over petitions."
Moody said that shows that the new law's restrictions "are narrowly tailored to advance the state's interest" in timely certifying candidates and petitions, and means the "compelling interest" requirement was met.
Metro on 08/26/2015