Expect things to get somewhat interesting with respect to election deadlines and when the Indiana Supreme Court hears the John Rust case to get on the Indiana ballot for the May primary.
The Indiana Supreme Court set February 12 as the date to hear the case, and the Justices did not issue a stay of the lower court ruling, which basically said forcing a candidate to vote in two consecutive primaries or get a letter from their county chairman was unconstitutional.
The state appealed, and the Supreme Court scheduled to hear the case on the 12th. The Feb 12th oral argument date is smack dab in the middle of primary deadlines.
- February 9 – U.S. Senate & Gubernatorial primary filing deadline
- February 12 – Supreme Court hears Rust case
- February 16 – Deadline to withdraw from the primary and to file a challenge to a candidacy.
- February 29 – Deadline for election boards to determine candidate eligibility.
It is up in the air whether the justices will deliver a decision by the 29th.
Indy Politics reached out to the Court about those dates and if there was any concern. A court spokesperson told us, “You are correct; the Court scheduled the 23S-PL-371 argument for Feb 12. You can see the briefing schedule online at mycase.in.gov listed on Dec 15. Any questions about the dates set by the Election Commission would have to be directed to them.”
Indy Politics then reached out to the Election Commission to find out what their response was, and all we found out that they had told county officials was to “be prepared.”
