The challenge process for the Pennsylvania Green Party statewide petition is finally over. The tally is 58,139 valid signatures. This is more valid signatures than any other minor party or independent candidate collected anywhere in the U.S. this year, except that in Texas, the two independent gubernatorial candidates collected more.

Now the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide how many signatures were required this year, 67,070 or 15,494.

On September 11, a lower state court in Nebraska ruled that if a party holds a primary for a particular office and no one runs in it, later that same party can nominate someone by convention. The Democratic Party won this case, and was able to nominate a candidate for State Auditor by convention held after the primary (no one had run for that office in the Democratic primary in May). State ex rel Witek v Gale, Lancaster Co. Dist. Court. The precedent will help other parties in Nebraska in the future.

For the first time in decades, fusion will occur this year between a major party and a minor party in Delaware. Barbara Lifflander, a member of the Independent Party, won the Democratic primary for State Representative, District 41. Therefore, she will be listed twice on the ballot. Voters can vote for her under either the “Democratic” label or the “Independent” label. The district is currently represented by a Republican who is running for re-election.

On September 22, Washington state officials said they will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse the 9th circuit’s decision that outlawed the “top-two” primary. The 9th circuit had ruled on August 23, and had said that since Washington state prints party labels on ballots, therefore the state must honor a party’s right to nominate its own candidates without members of other parties participating. If the U.S. Supreme Court won’t take the case, the Grange will circulate a new initiative, making all elections in the state (except presidential elections) non-partisan.

The Vermont Progressive Party ran eleven candidates for State House of Representatives in 2004, and elected six of them. This year, the party is running seventeen candidates for State House, the most ever. One of the Progressives (Dexter Randall) won the Democratic and Republican nominations as well, so he is certain to be re-elected. Another six Progressives won the Democratic primary.

It is possible that four parties will be represented in the Vermont House after the November 2006 election, since five Libertarians won Republican primaries as well (three of those five primaries were contested). Seven Libertarians were running for the Vermont House of Representatives. If things had gone as planned, that would have meant five with the ballot label “Libertarian, Republican” and two as “Libertarian”. But due to late postal delivery, documents for four candidates were delivered late, so that there now only six Libertarians on the ballot. One has the label “Libertarian”, two have “Libertarian, Republican” and three have just “Republican”, even though they were also nominated by the Libertarian Party.

The 6th circuit struck down the Ohio law on how new and minor parties get on the ballot, on September 6, 2006. If the state wanted a rehearing, the rules required it to ask for a rehearing by September 20. The state did not do so. But, the state has now asked for an extension of time to do so, until October 4. The state’s excuse for being late is that “the issue is of great public importance”, and also that the court should consider the impact on this case, of the 7th circuit’s decision striking down the Illinois petition for independent candidates for the legislature that came down on September 18. This is peculiar logic, since the 7th circuit case also struck down a ballot access law, and the 7th circuit decision therefore gives no comfort to those who are unhappy with the 6th circuit’s opinion.

Hawaii held its primary on Saturday, September 23. The Republican primary for U.S. Senate had six candidates. The winner, Gerald Coffee, had already withdrawn from the race, but his name had remained on the ballot. This means the Republican Party state committee will be able to choose a replacement nominee. The Democratic nominee is incumbent U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka, who defeated Democratic U.S. House member Ed Case.

The U.S. Senate race will be a 3-candidate race. The third candidate will be Libertarian Lloyd Mallan. An independent candidate for U.S. Senate, C. Kaul Jochanan, failed to qualify. Independent candidates in Hawaii (except for president) cannot appear on the November ballot unless they outpoll one of the partisan primary winners, or unless they poll 10% of the vote for that office in all primaries combined. Since Mallan received 209 votes in the Libertarian primary, and Jochanan only received 167 votes in the non-partisan primary, Jochanan cannot qualify.

A Rassmussen Reports poll, taken September 20 and released on September 22, shows these results for the Pennsylvania US Senate race: Casey (Dem.) 49%, Santorum (Rep.) 39%, Romanelli (Green) 5%, undecided 7%.

Romanelli’s ballot position is still undecided. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide in the first week of October whether the required number of signatures this year is 67,070 or 15,494. Also, the petition for a rehearing in the federal constitutional case is still pending. If either case wins, Romanelli will be on the ballot. He is already on the absentee overseas ballots.

On September 21, Norm Vroman, District Attorney of Mendocino County, California, died unexpectedly. He apparently suffered a fatal heart attack, and was either 69 or 70. He had been elected District Attorney in 1998 and re-elected in 2002, and was in a tight race for re-election this fall. He had been a registered Libertarian all that time, although all county offices in California are non-partisan. His name will remain on the November ballot.

in 2006, 48 states are holding statewide elections (all but Kentucky and North Carolina). The Libertarian Party has statewide candidates on the ballot in 31 states; the Green Party has them in 26 states plus D.C.; the Constitution Party has them in 13 states; the Socialist Workers in 3 states; the Working Families Party in 3 states; the Reform Party in 3 states; the Socialist Party in one state; the Socialist Equality Party in one state. Also there are twelve parties organized in a single state that have statewide nominees on the ballot.

Libertarians: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Greens: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. It is still possible the party will also have a statewide nominee on the ballot in Pennsylvania, depending on a pending court decision.

Constitution: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah.

Socialist Workers: Iowa, New Jersey, New York.

Working Families: Massachusetts, New York.

Reform: Florida, Kansas.

Socialist: New Jersey.

Socialist Equality: New York.

Parties that are organized in only a single state, and that have statewide nominees this year, are: Alaskan Independence, Peace & Freedom (Cal.), Independent Party of Delaware, Populist Party of Maryland, Natural Law Party of Michigan, Independence Party of Minnesota, Independence Party of New York, Conservative Party of New York, Independence Party of South Carolina, Progressive (Vt.), Liberty Union (Vt.), and Mountain (W.Va.).

A note on methodology: if a state party is affiliated with the national party, it is included even though it may have a different name than the national party (for example, the Constitution Party in Michigan is called the U.S. Taxpayers Party). State parties that are not affiliated with the national party are still included if they use the name of the national party (for example, the Independent Green Party of Virginia is included, even though it is not part of the national Green Party; also some of the state Constitution Parties are included, even though they are not currently affiliated with the national Constitution Party).

The national Green Party has issued press releases including Brian Moore as one of its U.S. Senate candidates. Moore, running in Florida, is registered “independent”, is on the ballot as “independent”, and his web page refers to himself as an independent candidate, although it notes that the Green Party has endorsed him. Therefore, the tabulation above does not include Florida as a state in which the Green Party has any statewide nominees.