Citizens in Charge

Nebraska’s Secretary of State says he has “every confidence” that the state’s requirement that people who collect signatures on a petition live in the state will be upheld in federal court. The only problem is, residency requirements have been ruled unconstitutional at least eleven times since 1997. Only once, in North Dakota, did a court uphold a residency requirement, and later courts criticized that ruling as improperly decided. In light of this, one really has to wonder where the secretary’s confidence comes from.

Secretary John Gale is named as a defendant in Citizens in Charge Foundation v. Gale, which challenges the residency requirement and an increase in barriers to independent political candidates. A motion for preliminary injunction - asking the court to put the law on hold while its constitutionality is decided - will be heard today at 3 pm local time in Omaha. That motion was filed by the Libertarian Party of Nebraska and alleges that the party will suffer irreparable harm if the law is not put on hold before the upcoming November election.

Residency requirements restrict free speech by limiting the number of people available to carry a petition - if anyone should be confident it is those challenging the law.