Several non-profit political reform groups will file amicus curiae briefs in support of the Libertarian Party of North Carolina's lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the state's election laws, said party chair Barbara Howe.
These include Common Cause, Democracy NC, FairVote, Free & Equal, the John Locke Foundation, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, the North Carolina Institution for Constitutional Law, North Carolinians for Free and Proper Elections, the North Carolina Center for Voter Education and the Southern Coalition for Social Justice.
The suit, begun in September 2005, asserts the state’s election laws deny citizens their rights to free association, free elections, equal protection of the law and the ability to vote for candidates of their choice.
Taken as a whole, the statutory regulation of political parties denies Libertarians as well as unaffiliated voters the right to association and expression of their political philosophy, Libertarians claim. The Green Party joined the suit shortly after it was filed.
Superior Court Judge Robert Hobgood ruled against the LPNC in September 2008, saying “there is no fundamental right for a voter to vote for the party of their choice.”
The LPNC appealed but a three-judge appeals court panel upheld the superior court 2-1 decision in October.
The dissent by Judge Ann Maria Calabria allowed the LPNC to appeal the decision. She said the “... compelling interests of the people of North Carolina … are thwarted by the ballot access statutes.”
Dr. Munger, chair of Duke University's political science department agrees that judges properly show substantial deference to the legislature's authority to determine time, place and manner of elections.
“I am sympathetic to the position the judges find themselves in,” Munger said in response to the appeal decision. “But at some point our justice system is going to have to take up the cause of the citizens, because right now the General Assembly is letting us down,” he said.
Munger was the 2008 Libertarian candidate for governor. He received nearly three percent of the vote, allowing the Libertarians to retain ballot status.
The formal appeal was filed November 23. Howe said she did not know when the full court will hear the case. The groups supporting the LPNC will file their amicus briefs in December or January.
For further information: The LPNC website has copies of the original complaint, briefs, appeals and court decisions here.
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