Nader Asks for US Supreme Court Help in Pennsylvania

October 21st, 2004

Today Ralph Nader asked the US Supreme Court to put him on the Pennsylvania ballot. This is only the second time Nader has asked for help from the US Supreme Court this year. He previously requested that court to list him in Oregon, but his attempt was denied by a vote of 8-1.

Pennsylvania law, by its very terms and definitions, does not require signers to be registered voters. Instead they must be eligible to be registered to vote. That is the basis of Nader’s appeal to the US Supreme Court.



Op-Ed in San Jose Mercury News on Prop. 62

October 21st, 2004

Ballot Access News editor Richard Winger wrote an op-ed opposing California’s Proposition 62 in today’s San Jose Mercury News. The newspaper previously endorsed a vote in favor of the measure.

Proposition 62 would enact a Louisiana-style election system where only the top two candidates in the primary would appear on the November ballot, regardless of party. This would result in third parties rarely appearing on the November ballot in California.

Sunday: Richard Winger on CNN

October 21st, 2004

Ballot Access News editor Richard Winger will appear on CNN this Sunday at 3:00 pm Eastern Time (12 noon Pacific) on the show “In the Money.”

We don’t know when in the show he will be on, but take the time to watch the show!

Nader Ohio Ballot Access Litigation Website

October 20th, 2004

A website devoted to the details of the Ohio Nader ballot access litigation has just been established at think link. Ohio’s Supreme Court is still considering whether to put Nader on the ballot. The issues are whether the state’s petition-checking procedures are so hopelessly flawed; and whether it is constitutional to ban out-of-state circulators.

Nader Drops Bid for Spot on Idaho Ballot

October 20th, 2004

Ralph Nader dropped his legal bid to get his name printed on Idaho’s general election ballot.

The decision to drop the latest lawsuit came just a day before a court hearing on the Nader claim that petition signatures were wrongly disqualified.

Nader did file papers to be a write-in on November second. As a write-in four years ago, he got two and a half percent of Idaho’s presidential vote.

Nader Loses Illinois Challenge

October 20th, 2004

Yesterday the Illinois Supreme Court rejected an emergency challenge to a ruling barring Ralph Nader’s name from the state ballot.

The court did not issue an opinion. Instead, it filed a brief order rejecting Nader’s motion asking the high court to get involved.

The Nader campaign still is seeking relief from the 7th Circuit.

Nader Opposes “Top Two” Measure in Wash. State

October 19th, 2004

Both Washington and California voters will be voting on whether to restrict the general election ballot (for office other than president) to only two candidates. Ralph Nader, campaigning in Washington state, again reiterated his opposition to the “top two” initiative in Washington state.

John B. Anderson Also Opposes Calif. Prop. 62

October 19th, 2004

Former congressman and former independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson, who got 7% for president as an independent candidate in 1980, has asked California voters to reject Prop. 62. In a letter released on Oct. 19, Anderson said:

“I urge the voters of California to vote No on Prop. 62. It would clearly result in a general election ballot where the only names would be of the two major parties, the Democrats and the Republicans.

“California voters would never have the option of voting for an independent or minor party candidate, no matter how attractive they might be as an alternative. Such a lock-up of the political process would be harmful to democracy, and it must be defeated.”

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Upholds Ruling Barring Nader From Ballot

October 19th, 2004

Today, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling that ordered Ralph Nader off Pennsylvania’s presidential ballot.

The one-page order, released Tuesday, did not include any explanation.

The Nader campaign plans to seek injunctive relief from the US Supreme Court.

Jesse Ventura Opposes California’s Anti-Minor Party Prop. 62

October 19th, 2004

Former Governor Jesse Ventura (who was elected in 1998 in Minnesota on the Reform Party ticket) has just issued this statement:

“Dear California Voters, I hope California voters defeat Prop. 62 on November 2. This proposition would mandate that all candidates including independents and third party candidates run on the same primary ballot in June with Republicans and Democrats and then only the top two vote-getters would appear on the November ballot.

“In Minnesota, September 1998, I only received 3% of the open primary vote in the race for Governor. Despite these numbers I went on to win the general election in November. Under Prop. 62…I would have been excluded from the general election in November and never would have been able to serve as Governor of Minnesota.

“It is no surprise to me that big money is behind Prop. 62, and its efforts eliminate real choice for the voters in upcoming California elections. I strongly urge California voters to defeat Prop. 62.”

 

 

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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]

    ThirdPartyNews.net

    A site that covers news about minor parties.
    [Checked:060414]

    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]

    Initiative For Texas

    A group trying to establish the right to Initiative and Referendum in Texas. Their work has intriguing parallels and overlaps with ballot access work. Every page at the site seems to have some music on it, which can get annoying after awhile, but otherwise it's an interesting site.
    [Checked:991014]

    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.