ACLU files brief in Perry suit challenging Virginia ballot access obstacles
The ACLU has filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit challenging Virginia’s onerous ballot acces rules brought by Texas governor and Republican presidential primary candidate Rick Perry, Richard Winger’s Ballot Access News reports.
Virginia law requires a candidate seeking a slot on a statewide ballot to secure 10,000 signatures, including at least 400 from each congressional district and prohibits out-of-state residents from circulating petitions.
The ACLU brief (found here) argues the state has the ability to subpoena out-of-state circulators if fraud is suspected. It also mentions a 2011 Nebraska court decision in Citizens in Charge v Gale striking down that state’s law prohibiting out-of-state circulators. Other briefs filed in Perry’s case had not mentioned that precedent.
