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On February 16, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, a Bush Jr. appointee, issued a 76-page order in We the People PAC v Bellows, 1:20cv-489. The order enjoins the Maine ban on out-of-state circulators for initiatives. It also enjoins the Maine law requiring initiative circulators to be registered voters.
The order is somewhat surprising, because the Maine State Supreme Court had twice upheld the same laws, in 1998 and again just last September. Also in 1999 a U.S. District Court in Maine had upheld the law. Furthermore, even Judge Woodcock himself had declined last month to issue a temporary restraining order against the restrictions.
Woodcock
BANGOR, Maine (Legal Newsline) – Maine’s desire to keep out-of-state voices out of its political process is trumped by free speech rights, a federal judge has ruled.
Judge John Woodcock granted a preliminary injunction on Feb. 16 against a Maine law that requires petition circulators to be registered voters in the state. The challenge to the law comes from a political action committee, a state lawmaker and a professional circulator who resides in Michigan.
They want to circulate a petition that targets a ban on non-citizen voting. Woodcock’s ruling is a bit of a surprise, since he refused to grant a temporary restraining order only a month ago.
BANGOR, Maine (Legal Newsline) – A Maine federal judge is skeptical about the likelihood a political action committee and a state lawmaker will be able to convince him to strike down a state law regarding signature-gathering.