1. Appeals court blocks Ohio initiative campaigns from using e-signatures allowed by prior district court ruling
2. Voters to choose Democratic, Republican nominees in PA-01 primary
3. Local roundup

Appeals court blocks Ohio initiative campaigns from using e-signatures allowed by prior district court ruling

On May 26, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a decision by U.S. District Judge Edmund Sargus. The panel's temporary ruling means the state does not have to accept electronic signatures while the appeal is ongoing. Judge Sargus had previously ordered Ohio to accept electronic signatures from two statewide initiative campaigns and several local ones. The appeal was expedited in the circuit court. Sargus was first appointed to the court in 1996 by former President Bill Clinton (D).

Judges Jeffrey Sutton, David McKeague, and John Nalbandian made up the panel. Former President George W. Bush (R) appointed McKeague and Sutton, while President Donald Trump (R) appointed Nalbandian. The judges wrote that a decision about state election procedures should be decided by the secretary of state rather than the courts:

“[T]he federal Constitution provides States—not federal judges—the ability to choose among many permissible options when designing elections. [...] It may well be that the new methods for gathering signatures and verifying them proposed by Plaintiffs (using electronic signatures gathered online by third parties and identified by social security number) will prove workable. But they may also pose serious security concerns and other, as yet unrealized, problems. So the decision to drastically alter Ohio’s election procedures must rest with the Ohio Secretary of State and other elected officials, not the courts.”

Here’s how we got here:

• March 30: Ohioans for Raise the Wage and Ohioans for Secure and Fair Elections filed a lawsuit in the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas asking for the July 1 signature deadline to be extended, the number of signatures required to be reduced, and permission to gather signatures online. 
   
• April 28: Court of Common Pleas Judge David Young (D) dismissed the case, arguing that since the petition requirements for initiatives are in the Ohio Constitution, "the ability to change those requirements is reserved only to the people." He added that there is no exception for public health emergencies. Following the decision, the campaigns brought their case to the federal court.
   
• May 19: U.S. District Judge Sargus ordered Ohio to accept electronic signatures from two statewide initiative campaigns and several local ones. He also extended the signature deadline from July 1 to July 31. The order only applied to the ballot measure campaigns that sued the state, including several local marijuana decriminalization initiative campaigns. U.S. District Judge Sargus argued in his opinion that "these unique historical circumstances of a global pandemic and the impact of Ohio's Stay-at-Home Orders, the State's strict enforcement of the signature requirements for local initiatives and constitutional amendments severely burden Plaintiff's First Amendment rights." The ruling did not change the number of signatures required or the state’s distribution requirement.
   
• May 20: Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost (R) filed an appeal of the ruling on behalf of the state. If the decision is not reversed, Ohioans for Raise the Wage and Ohioans for Secure and Fair Elections have until July 31 to collect 443,958 valid signatures.
   
• May 26: A three-judge panel on the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed Judge Sargus’ decision.

Ballotpedia has identified 12 lawsuits in ten states seeking changes or suspensions of ballot measure requirements as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The topics of the lawsuits include:

• the number of signatures required,
• notary requirements for remote signatures,
• the ability to collect signatures electronically, and
• the extension of signature deadlines.

Before March 2020, no states allowed the use of electronic signatures for statewide initiative and referendum petitions. While some states allowed remote signatures through petition sheets printed, signed, and mailed, no states allowed remote signature-gathering through email before the coronavirus pandemic. Since then, Massachusetts became the first and only state to allow it on April 29. The Washington, D.C., Council also passed a bill on May 5 that allows remote signature gathering for initiative campaigns through email.

For our full tracking of changes to election procedures, click the link below.

Learn more

       

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Voters to choose Democratic, Republican nominees in PA-01 primary

We’re continuing our previews of June 2 battleground primary elections. Battlegrounds are elections that Ballotpedia expects to have a meaningful effect on the balance of power in governments or to be particularly competitive or compelling. On June 2, voters in 12 states and the District of Columbia will decide presidential or statewide primaries.

Yesterday, we looked at the Republican primary in New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District. Today, we’re looking at both the Democratic and Republican primaries in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District. Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) changed the date of the statewide primary from April 28 to June 2 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Incumbent Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R) is seeking re-election and faces challenger Andrew Meehan in the primary.

Fitzpatrick was first elected to represent the state's 8th Congressional District in 2016. Following redistricting, he was elected to the 1st District in 2018 with 51.3% of the vote to Scott Wallace's (D) 48.7%. Fitzpatrick is one of two Republican House incumbents seeking re-election in a district Hillary Clinton (D) won in 2016. She won the redrawn 1st District by 2 percentage points.

Democratic primary

Christina Finello and Skylar Hurwitz are running in the Democratic primary.

Finello is on the Ivyland Borough Council and is deputy director of Housing and Human Services for Bucks County. Her campaign has focused on healthcare. Finello's healthcare platform includes creating a public option, allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and protecting health coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.

Hurwitz founded a blockchain technology consulting firm and worked as a grant manager for Conservation International. His central issue is his Fair Tax Platform, which includes returning the corporate tax rate to 35% and imposing "a wealth tax on the top 0.1% of Americans with a net worth of $32 million or more." Hurwitz says the tax platform would fund his other proposals, including Medicare for All by 2025, a Green New Deal, and debt-free college.

The Bucks County and Montgomery County Democratic parties endorsed Finello. Our Revolution of Pennsylvania endorsed Hurwitz.

Republican primary

Fitzpatrick says he has a proven record of leadership in Congress, including authoring legislation on border security, proposing a government reform plan, and serving as vice chair of the Bipartisan Heroin Task Force. The Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School announced in May that Fitzpatrick had the highest score of any representative on its 2019 Bipartisan Index, saying he co-sponsored 673 bills offered by Democrats. On his official U.S. House website, Fitzpatrick said in a press release, "Hyper-partisanship is the single biggest threat facing our Nation. Bipartisanship is the only remedy that will save and heal our nation."

Meehan is president of an investment advisory firm he started in 1998. His campaign website said he "felt it was imperative that an actual Republican challenge Fitzpatrick." Meehan says he supports President Donald Trump, reforming trade deals, and exiting foreign wars. He says Fitzpatrick failed the district by voting with Democrats on legislation related to guns, abortion, Obamacare, and amnesty. Meehan also criticized Fitzpatrick's July 2019 vote to condemn the president's comments about four Democratic congressional members, whom Trump said should go back to the countries they came from.

The district consists of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County. The Bucks County and Montgomery County Republican parties endorsed Fitzpatrick. Former Pennsylvania Commission for Women member Anne Chapman endorsed Meehan.

Local roundup

Here’s our weekly rundown of local election results, as well as a preview of an upcoming mayoral race.

Mayoral elections in Chesapeake and Norfolk, Virginia

Chesapeake and Norfolk, Virginia, held nonpartisan general elections for municipal and school board offices on May 19. In Chesapeake, incumbent Mayor Richard West defeated Lenard Myers, Steffanie Aubuchon, and Palmer Smith. In Norfolk, incumbent Mayor Kenny Alexander ran unopposed.

Also on the ballot in Chesapeake were two of nine city council seats and four of nine school board seats. In Norfolk, the mayoral race shared the ballot with elections for two of seven city council seats and two of seven school board seats.

Norfolk and Chesapeake are among the top 100 cities by population (#80 and #90, respectively). To date, 64 mayors in those cities are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 29 are affiliated with the Republican Party, three are independents, and four identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated. Twenty-nine mayors in the top 100 cities are up for election this year.

Baltimore, Maryland mayoral election

Baltimore is holding a primary election for mayor June 2. The election was originally scheduled for April 28, but Gov. Larry Hogan (R) postponed the statewide primary elections from April 28 to June 2. Twenty-four Democrats and seven Republicans are running in the primary. Incumbent Mayor Bernard “Jack” Young (D) is running for re-election.

Former U.S. Treasury official Mary Miller (D) had spent the most in the race as of May 22, reporting over $2 million in spending. Young spent the second-most with $1.3 million, while former Deputy Attorney General Thiru Vignarajah (D) came in third with more than $1 million.

Young, the former Baltimore City Council president, automatically took office in May 2019 after former Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) resigned amidst a federal investigation into sales of her self-published children’s book series.

Baltimore has had a Democratic mayor since 1967.

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