2008 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
(updated September 6, 2008)
TOTAL STATES ON THE BALLOT
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Constitution Party
Nader (Indep.)
42
31
33
39
 
     

Independent Candidate Enters Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Race

April 13th, 2006

On April 11, Russ Diamond declared he will petition his way onto the Pennsylvania ballot this year as an independent candidate for Governor. Diamond is a businessman who founded “Pennsylvania Clean Sweep”, a citizens group outraged that the Pennsylvania legislature last year voted itself a substantial pay raise. Diamond needs 66,827 valid signatures by August 1. If he succeeds, he will be the first independent on the Pennsylvania ballot for Governor since 1942.



Court turns down Nader’s Michigan Rehearing Request

April 13th, 2006

On April 11, the 6th circuit refused Ralph Nader’s request for a rehearing en banc in his Michigan ballot access case. Nader had appeared on the Michigan ballot in 2004 as an independent, but he had preferred to be listed as the Reform Party nominee. But the Michigan Reform Party was split, and only one set of party officers nominated Nader; the other set said the party didn’t wish to run any presidential candidate. The Michigan Secretary of State refused to decide which set of state party officers was legitimate, and left all Reform Party nominees off the ballot. Nader had sued, arguing that the Secretary of State had a duty to decide, but the court had ruled against him. He had asked for a rehearing in January, but that has now been denied.

Oregon Independent for Governor Has Raised $450,000

April 12th, 2006

State Senator Ben Westlund, independent candidate for Oregon Governor, has raised $450,000, and his petition is being circulated by 300 volunteers. He needs 18,356 signatures of registered voters who abstain from the May primary, and is thought likely to succeed. He is about to launch a TV ad for himself, emphasizing that Oregon last elected an independent as Governor in 1930. That candidate, Julius Meyer, is considered by historians to have been a successful governor who helped restore the state’s budget and economy.

New Progressive Party State Legislator in Vermont

April 12th, 2006

On April 11, Vermont’s Republican Governor chose Chris Pearson to fill a vacant seat in the legislature. Pearson is a Progressive Party member, and was that party’s executive director for five years. In Vermont, the tradition is strong that when there is a legislative vacancy, the Governor appoints a replacement from the ranks of the party that had last won that seat. The vacant seat is vacant because former Progressive Party state legislator Bob Kiss resigned to take his new job as Mayor of Burlington.

Special Congressional Election Results, California

April 12th, 2006

On April 11, voters in California’s 50th U.S. House district faced a blanket primary ballot with 18 candidates: 14 Republicans, 2 Democrats, one Libertarian and one independent. The various Republicans polled 53.3%; the two Democrats together polled 45.2%; the independent received .8%; the Libertarian, .6%. The highest vote-getting Democrat and the highest vote-getting Republican, along with the Independent and the Libertarian, will face off in a run-off in June.

In November 2004, this same district had voted for U.S. House as follows: Republican 58.4%; Democrat 36.5%; Green 2.3%; Constitution 1.6%; Libertarian 1.2%.

Takoma Park, Maryland to Use Instant-Runoff Voting

April 10th, 2006

On April 10, the city council of Takoma Park, Maryland, amended the city charter to provide for Instant-Runoff Voting for city office. The voters had already approved the idea last year, and the change is now final.

Maryland Outlaws Fusion

April 8th, 2006

On March 31, the Maryland legislature passed Senate Bill 129 on an emergency basis. Since it is an emergency bill, it takes effect immediately and does not need approval by the Governor. It outlaws fusion in federal elections. It also codifies the court decision Maryland Green Party v Bd. of Elections. That decision, issued in 2003, struck down the need for qualified minor parties to submit petitions for their nominees, and was a great ballot access victory.

Although Maryland has outlawed fusion in state elections for decades, a loophole in the law seemed to permit fusion for congressional and presidential elections. That loophole is now closed.

Although it is disappointing that federal fusion no longer exists in Maryland, the other part of the bill is beneficial. When a court strikes down a ballot access restriction, it is always useful to have the legislature then amend the law to reflect the court decision, to avoid confusion. In Pennsylvania, during the last 21 years, six different ballot access restrictions have been struck down by federal courts, and yet the Pennsylvania legislature has not amended the election code to reflect any of these decisions.

Alabama Instant-Runoff Voting Bill Fails to Pass

April 8th, 2006

South Carolina, Arkansas and Louisiana all provide for Instant-Runoff Voting in party primaries, for overseas absentee ballots. A bill to do the same in Alabama had passed the Alabama House on March 16. However, the Alabama Senate refused to consider the bill, and it cannot now pass. Instead, the Alabama legislature passed SB 529 and sent it to the Governor.

SB 529 expands the time interval between the first primary and the run-off primary, from 3 weeks, to 6 weeks. The whole motivation for southern states to use IRV had been that there isn’t enough time to send ballots back and forth between Alabama and overseas locations (southern states are the only states that hold run-off primaries). So, the Alabama legislature solved the problem in an unimaginative manner, unlike the legislatures of three of her sister states in the south.

N.Y. Independence Party Settles One Intra-Party Dispute

April 7th, 2006

On April 6, one of the New York Independence Party internal disputes was settled. Both factions of the Staten Island (Richmond County) Independence Party now recognize Sarah Lyons as the County Chair. Lyons is an ally of Lenora Fulani. However, some rules changes were made to satisfy the faction of the party that is opposed to Fulani.

Republicans Set Late 2008 Convention

April 7th, 2006

On April 7, the Republican Party announced that its 2008 presidential convention will be September 1-September 4. This is the latest major party presidential convention in U.S. history. The previous latest convention ever had been the Republican 2004 convention, Aug. 31-Sep. 3. Democrats last year had chosen their 2008 dates, Aug. 25-Aug. 28, 2008.

These late major party dates will make it even more difficult for states to justify early petition deadlines, since obviously states won’t be able to start printing November ballots until after September 4.

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

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  • 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.