Roseanne Barr Discusses her Presidential Race in Esquire

May 19th, 2013

Esquire Magazine has this interview with Roseanne Barr, and quite a bit of it discusses her run for President last year. The Esquire interviewer is correct when he said to her that she came in sixth.



Virginia Republican Party Holds Nominating Convention for This Year’s Statewide Offices

May 19th, 2013

Virginia elects its three statewide state executive officers in November 2013. The three offices are Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General. On May 18, the Republican Party nominated by convention, held in the Richmond Coliseum. Delegates had been chosen in city and county conventions held between March 1 and April 30. Approximately 8,000 delegates participated. Here are the rules on how delegates were chosen. No fee was required for Delegates, but Delegates who paid a voluntary $35 were entitled to special perks, as listed in the rules.

Virginia is the only state in which either major party ever nominates for Governor by convention (with no primary), although in several other states, lower level statewide executive nominees of major parties are chosen in conventions. The Virginia Republican Party also nominated by convention in 2009, although it nominated by primary in 2005.

Interesting Election Law Hearing in Los Angeles on Monday, May 20

May 19th, 2013

Anyone who lives near downtown Los Angeles, and who is able to attend a court hearing at 3 p.m., Monday, May 20, might consider sitting in the audience when U.S. District Court Judge Philip Gutierrez holds a hearing in Libertarian Party of Los Angeles County v Bowen, 2:10cv-2488. The location is the federal courthouse at 312 North Spring Street. Here is more information about the case.

2014 Pennsylvania Statewide Minor Party Petition Requirement Likely to be 20,000 Or Less

May 19th, 2013

The number of signatures needed for statewide minor party and independent candidates in Pennsylvania in 2014 depends on voter turnout in November 2013 for Judge of the Superior Court. The number of votes cast in Pennsylvania’s statewide odd-year partisan judicial elections is usually low. The lower the turnout in these odd year elections, the lower the number of signatures required in the following year’s more important even-year election.

Because there is only one partisan statewide race on the Pennsylvania ballot in November 2013, and that is not for Supreme Court Justice, but just for Superior Court, voter turnout is likely to be even lower than normal. The formula for the number of signatures in 2014 is 2% of the highest vote-getting winning candidate’s vote in November 2013. That number will probably be slightly under 20,000. The number required in 2010 was 19,056, but the number required in 2006 was 67,070. The 2006 requirement was far higher because there were no statewide races in 2005, so the formula required looking back to the 2004 election, which had a far bigger turnout.

Oregon Omnibus Election Law Bill May be Amended to Improve Ballot Access

May 19th, 2013

Oregon SB 146, one of the Secretary of State’s omnibus election law bills, may be amended to provide that once a party meets the vote test, it remains ballot-qualified for the next two elections, instead of just the next election. The Senate Rules Committee will consider this amendment on May 22.

If this idea is signed into law, it would accentuate a trend that has been growing across the nation, to give minor parties two chances, instead of just one, to poll enough votes to remain on the ballot. Other states in which a party only must meet the vote test every four years, instead of every two years, to remain ballot-qualified (or which provide that once a party qualifies, it remains on for the next two elections) are Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Also, in Illinois, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Washington, the vote test applied to a particular office that only comes up once every four years, and if the group passes the vote test, the effect lasts for four years. Illinois and Texas have two types of vote test, and if one type is met, the effect lasts four years; if the other type is met, that lasts two years. Thanks to Blair Bobier for the Oregon news.

Help: Ballot Access News Needs a WordPress Expert

May 18th, 2013

Ballot Access News is looking for a WordPress expert to help with moving the site to a new server.

If you are qualified and able to help, please contact the webmaster, Eric Garris: egarris2@antiwar.com.

Birmingham News Columnist Deplores Alabama Ballot Access Restrictions

May 18th, 2013

Birmingham News columnist Joey Kennedy has written this article about Alabama’s deplorable ballot access law and the failure of the 2013 legislature to do anything about it. There is a lawsuit pending in U.S. District Court against the law, which the article does not mention. Thanks to Ed Still for the link.

New Jersey Socialist Party Will Fight for Ability of Voters to Register “Socialist”

May 18th, 2013

The New Jersey Socialist Party has voted to file a lawsuit against the state, to obtain the ability of voters to register as members of the Socialist Party. In 2001 the state appeals court ruled that it is unconstitutional to force all voters to register only “Democratic”, “Republican” or “independent.” In response, the state started letting voters register into the parties that had filed that lawsuit, but no others. The 2001 lawsuit had been filed by the Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Natural Law, and Reform Parties.

Some years later the Conservative Party of New Jersey filed a similar lawsuit, and the state then conceded and agreed to let voters register into the Conservative Party. But in all these years, the state has never amended its statute to update its policy on how a group may qualify to let voters register into such a group. The state has also informed the Socialist Party that it is not entitled to relief, so the only option seems to be a lawsuit.

Michigan Successfully Fends Off Attack on Election Law that Prohibits Church Officials from Telling Voters How to Vote

May 18th, 2013

Since 1877, Michigan has had an election law that says, “A priest, pastor, curate, or other officer of a religious society shall not for the purpose of influencing a voter at an election, impose or threaten to impose upon the voter a penalty of excommunication, dismissal, or expulsion, or command or advise the voter, under pain of religious disapproval.” Anyone who breaks this law is guilty of a misdemeanor.

On October 22, 2012, Pastor Levon Yuille filed a lawsuit, alleging that he believes that voting for a politician who publicly supports abortion and gay marriage is a sin, and also alleging that he is afraid if he preaches that, he is subject to a criminal penalty. Yuille v Schuette, 2:12cv-14652, eastern district. The state defended the constitutionality of this law, saying,, “Religious officials have the power to wield immense, even compulsory, influence over some voters in a way that other individuals may not – especially those in their own congregation…The potential influence of a religious official over some voters – and therefore, the potential for intimidation and coercion – is far greater and even harder to detect than that caused by leafleting or other political activity.” The state also said the law is not enforced and therefore the plaintiff lacks standing. Also the state says the law only refers to activity at the polls, which seems a strained interpretation.

The U.S. District Court, and the 6th circuit, then ruled that the plaintiff lacks standing. The Michigan law is still on the books. Although there are 42 election law bills pending in the Michigan legislature, there is no bill to repeal this law.

This outcome stands in sharp contrast to a similar incident in 2012 in Montana, where a law said, “A person who is a minister, preacher, priest, or other church officer my not, other than by public speech or print, urge, persuade, or command any voter to vote or refrain from voting for or against any candidate, political party ticket, or ballot issue submitted to the people because of the person’s religious duty.”

A lawsuit, Zastrow v Bullock, cv 12-18-RFC, was filed to overturn that law. Montana admitted the law was unconstitutional and signed a consent decree not to enforce it. Then, in 2013, Montana Secretary of State Linda McCulloch put a repeal of the law in her omnibus election law bill, HB 120. That bill passed and therefore the Montana law is now repealed. The fact that two such similar cases had such different outcomes is a sad commentary on the random nature of litigation and also an interesting commentary on the difference between Montana’s Secretary of State and Attorney General (both were Democrats during 2012), compared to Michigan’s Secretary of State and Attorney General (both are Republicans). Thanks to Thomas Jones for the information about the Michigan lawsuit.

Maine Bill, Increasing Public Funding Amounts, Advances

May 17th, 2013

On May 17, the Maine Joint Committee on State and Local Government passed LD 1309. The bill triples the amount of public funding that candidates for state office may receive. See this story.

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Welcome to the OFFICIAL online home of Ballot Access News, a non-partisan newsletter reporting on the trials and tribulations of folks trying to put candidates on the ballot in the United States of America. There are many surprisingly restrictive ballot access laws in this country, which the average voter has no knowledge or conception of; part of our purpose here (besides reporting on progress made) is to report on these restrictive ballot access laws so that more people are aware of them. I hope you find these materials interesting and exciting; if you do, you can support the newsletter by subscribing!

Ballot Access News is edited and published by Richard Winger, the nation's leading expert on ballot access legal issues.

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Additional articles/essays:

  • Politics, Soviet-style by S. Philip Gordon, regarding recent ballot access issues in Georgia – the US state, not the Russian territority!

Extra Features:

Other information:

  • Here's how to subscribe to Ballot Access News!

  • Here's information on Presidential Ballot Access as well as the vote totals of recent Presidential elections.

  • Here are some other sites which may also be of interest:

    Project Vote-Smart

    Project Vote Smart is a citizens' organization dedicated to serving all Americans with accurate and unbiased information for electoral decision-making. It was inaugerated in 1992 by former US Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford, and other leaders. Its webpage offers information about all ballot-listed candidates for all federal and state office.
    [Added:040729]

    The ACE Project
    An interesting site concerning itself with the "Administration and Cost of Elections", including issues of fairness and regulatory approaches in various countries. They seem to be almost blind to the ways that third parties in the USA are harmed by campaign finance rules crafted for the problems characteristic of the larger parties, or the ways that third parties would be disenfranchised by various proposed rules, but this is nevertheless a useful resource, particularly for the international comparisons it makes.
    [Added:001206]

    "Unofficial" B.A.N. Page

    At first, it looks like there's not much here. But then you follow the "Charts" link, and click on one of the listed candidates, and you'll get some truly wonderful nationwide maps of voting patterns.
    [Checked:991014]

    Third Party Central

    Collects lots of good information and links relating to various third parties into one convenient location. Nice set of writings on why one should vote third-party.
    [Checked:991014]

    Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

    A surprisingly complete listing of votes cast in Presidential elections, including numerous third-party candidates and nice maps of vote distribution by state and (on the individual state pages) by county.
    [New-URL:010309]

    D.C.'s Political Report

    Very good presentation of candidate and party information, including virtually every known third-party group in the USA. Election results, candidate information, etc.
    [Updated:991214]

    Center for Voting and Democracy

    Folks concerned with alternative voting systems, and related issues, from a moderately leftist perspective. Useful articles describing how better systems of voting and electing actually work.
    [Added:000823]

The newsletter is published by and copyright by Richard Winger.