supreme court
Today, unfortunately, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the Cert petition filed by the Initiative & Referendum Institute, et al, seeking review of a DC Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding a 1998 regulation promulgated by the U.S. Postal Service that denies petition circulators access to walkways leading to post offices. In addition to the Initiative & Referendum Institute, a number of state and local grassroots groups joined the 13-year lawsuit against the Postal Service, including two national groups, the Humane Society of the U.S. and U.S. Term Limits.
A lawsuit filed Tuesday to knock a people’s veto referendum off of the June 2010 ballot relies on a complete misunderstanding of settled petition law. According to the Portland Press Herald:
“John Paterson of Bernstein Shur in Portland, the attorney representing Johnson, said a review shows Dunlap should have thrown out “an extensive number” of other signatures, including entire pages circulated by people who were not registered Maine voters.”
As the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether signatures on the Referendum-71 petition in Washington state should be made public, a public opinion battle is heating up. Compelling arguments are surfacing on both sides of the issue, with each side calling on the High Court to rule in their favor.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has ordered the Washington Secretary of State not to release the names and addresses of voters who signed the petition for Referendum 71.