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2008
PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
(updated
October 7, 2008)
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TOTAL
STATES ON THE BALLOT
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Libertarian
Party
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Green
Party
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Constitution
Party
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Nader
(Indep.)
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45
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32
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37
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46
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May 21st, 2006
Pennsylvania held primaries for the Republican and Democratic primaries on May 16. 61 state legislators had an opponent, and 18 state legislators were defeated for re-election. There are still 4 more races too close to call.
May 20th, 2006
Kevin Zeese has been running for the U.S. Senate in Maryland for approximately six months, with the likely or certain endorsement of three different minor parties (Populist, Green and Libertarian). All three of those parties are on the Maryland ballot. However, Maryland law requires him to choose just one of them, and he has recently chosen “Green” for his ballot label. Zeese was an active supporter of Ralph Nader in 2004 and helped to create the Populist Party in Maryland (the Populist Party was formed largely as a vehicle for Nader’s candidacy, since the ballot access requirements are easier for new parties in Maryland than they are for independent candidates). Zeese’s chief issue is opposition to having the U.S. military in Iraq.
May 20th, 2006
The US Supreme Court has put Lawrence v Blackwell on its conference calendar for June 1, Thursday. Conferences decide whether to hear certain cases. Results of that conference won’t be publicly known until Monday, June 5. Lawrence v Blackwell challenges the March 1 Ohio petition deadline (for office other than president). The 6th circuit upheld it, even though earlier, courts in 13 other states had struck down deadlines in April, May and June (for office other than president).
If the US Supreme Court accepts Lawrence v Blackwell, it will be the first time since 1991 that the Court accepted a ballot access case. That last case was Norman v Reed, an Illinois case won by the Harold Washington Party (an African-American Party that was trying to get on the ballot for partisan offices in Cook County, Illinois). Although that case won in the U.S. Surpreme Court, it only interpreted certain peculiar Illinois laws in a favorable manner, so it hasn’t been much use as a precedent elsewhere.
May 19th, 2006
Illinois State Senator James Meeks announced on May 19 that he will not qualify the “Honesty and Integrity Party” for the statewide ballot this year. Last week he had said he would. Meeks met with Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich earlier in the day, and it is believed Meeks won a commitment for changes in the Governor’s budget for education at that meeting.
May 18th, 2006
On May 18, U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell introduced an amendment to the Immigration Reform bill, to require that states not let people vote at the polls without showing photo I.D. The bill is S.2611 and the amendment is SA4021. The amendment would only apply to elections for federal office, since the U.S. Constitution doesn’t let the federal government legislate such a requirement for state and local offices.
May 17th, 2006
On May 17, the 10th circuit ruled that a state with the initiative process is free to provide that for certain subjects, initiatives cannot take effect unless they receive a “yes” vote of two-thirds of the vote. Initiative & Referendum Institute v Walker, 02-4105. In this particular case, the Utah legislature had provided that initiatives on the subject of “allowing, limiting, or taking of wildlife” needs 2/3rds voting support, not just majority support.
May 17th, 2006
On May 8, the Working Families Party filed to be a “political body” in California. That means, whenever the state does a tally of how many registered voters there are in the state, it will tally the number of voters who have registered as Working Families Party members. If the party persuades approximately 80,000 people to take this step by January 2008, it will become a qualified party at that time.
May 17th, 2006
The California Senate Elections Committee had scheduled a hearing on May 17 on AB 583, the “Clean Elections” public funding bill for state candidates. However, the hearing was cancelled, and it is not likely that the bill will pass in a future hearing this year. An initiative will probably appear on the November 2006 ballot to implement “Clean Elections” in any event. Unfortunately, the initiative is even more discriminatory against members of minor parties, and independent candidates, than AB 583.
May 17th, 2006
Paul Trujillo, chair of the Valencia County, New Mexico, County Commission, formally switched his registration from “Democrat” to “Libertarian” on May 4. He had said several months ago that he would do this. He is running for re-election as a Libertarian, and will face a Democratic and a Republican opponent.
May 16th, 2006
On May 16, Oregon held primary elections for the Democratic and Republican Parties (other qualified parties nominate by convention). Turnout was low (38% of the registered voters), which is good news for State Senator Ben Westlund, who is trying to collect signatures to get on the ballot as an independent for Governor. Last year Oregon made it illegal for people to both vote in the primary and sign for an independent candidate.
Oregon usually has high turnouts in primaries. In the May 2002 primary, 686,859 votes were cast for Governor. This year, with only 10 precincts still to be counted, there are only 569,552 votes for governor, even though Oregon has gained in population since 2002.
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Welcome
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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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Issues
available: |
|
2008:
|
2007:
|
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2006:
|
2005:
|
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2004:
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2003:
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2002:
- December
2002 Issue
(V:18– N:8)
- November
2002 Issue
(V:18– N:7)
- October
1, 2002 Issue (V:18 – N:6)
- September
1, 2002 Issue
(V:18 – N:5)
- August
1, 2002 issue (V:18 – N:4)
- July
1, 2002 issue (V:18 – N:3)
- June
1, 2002 issue (V:18 – N:2)
- May
1, 2002 issue (V:18 – N:1)
- April
1, 2002 issue (V:17 – N:13)
- March
1, 2002 issue (V:17 – N:12)
- February
1, 2002 issue (V:17 – N:11)
- January
1, 2002 issue (V:17 – N:10)
|
2001:
- December
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:9)
- November
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:8)
- October
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:7)
- September
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:6)
- August
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:5)
- July
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:4)
- June
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:3)
- May
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:2)
- April
1, 2001 issue (V:17 – N:1)
- March
1, 2001 issue (V:16 – N:12)
- February
1, 2001 issue (V:16 – N:11)
- January
1, 2001 issue (V:16 – N:10)
|
2000:
- December
5, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:9)
- November
16, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:8)
- October
1, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:7)
- September
1, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:6)
- August
1, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:5)
- July
1, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:4)
- June
1, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:3)
- May
1, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:2)
- April
1, 2000 issue (V:16 – N:1)
- March
1, 2000 issue (V:15 – N:12)
- February
1, 2000 issue (V:15 – N:11)
- January
1, 2000 issue (V:15 – N:10)
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1999:
- December
1, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:9)
- November
1, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:8)
- October
1, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:7)
- September
1, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:6)
- August
3, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:5)
- July
3, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:4)
- June
1, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:3)
- May
3, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:2)
- April
3, 1999 issue (V:15 – N:1)
- March
6, 1999 issue (V:14 – N:12)
- February
6, 1999 issue (V:14 – N:11)
- January
6, 1999 issue (V:14 – N:10)
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1998:
- December
8, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:9)
- November
8, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:8)
- October
4, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:7)
- September
4, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:6)
- August
3, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:5)
- July
3, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:4)
- June
3, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:3)
- May
7, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:2)
- April
5, 1998 issue (V:14 – N:1)
- March
8, 1998 issue (V:13 – N:12)
- February
8, 1998 issue (V:13 – N:11)
- January
5, 1998 issue (V:13 – N:10)
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1997:
- December
5, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:9)
- November
1, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:8)
- October
6, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:7)
- September
6, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:6)
- August
4, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:5)
- July
2, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:4)
BAN.
changed to a 12 issue per year schedule.
- June
2, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:3)
- May
5, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:2)
- April
7, 1997 issue (V:13 – N:1)
- March
10, 1997 issue (V:12 – N:13)
- February
10, 1997 issue (V:12 – N:12)
- January
12, 1997 issue (V:12 – N:11)
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1996:
- December
12, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:10)
- November
12, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:9)
- October
12, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:8)
- September
9, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:7)
- August
12, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:6)
- July
20, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:5)
- June
26, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:4)
- May
28, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:3)
- May
3, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:2)
- April
3, 1996 issue (V:12 – N:1)
- March
6, 1996 issue (V:11 – N:13)
- February
7, 1996 issue (V:11 – N:12)
- January
14, 1996 issue (V:11 – N:11)
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1995:
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1994:
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1993:
- 1993 Issues
not yet available online
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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. |
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