Second California IRV Bill Passes Assembly Appropriations Committee

May 31st, 2007

Two California bills that expand use of ranked-choice voting are moving along. On May 31, the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed AB 1662, which lets overseas absentee voters use ranked-choice ballots when they are voting in elections which have the potential for a run-off. Thus, the overseas absentees voters are permitted to vote fully, with only a single act, in both the first election and any needed run-off.

The other California bill involving ranked-choice ballots, AB 1294, had already passed the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1294 lets all cities and counties use Instant-Runoff Voting for their own local elections.



Alabama Legislature Passes February Presidential Primary Bill

May 31st, 2007

On May 31, the Alabama legislature passed HB358. It moves the presidential primary from June to February 5. The legislature had passed a similar bill last year, but it didn’t go into effect because the state didn’t send it in to the federal Voting Rights office for approval. The state didn’t send in the 2006 version because it had a drafting flaw. It moved the primary for all office, not just president, from June to February. No one had intended that result.

The new, 2007 version of the February presidential primary bill has an odd twist. It provides that the state’s two coastal counties should vote on January 30, 2008, but the results won’t be released to the public until the evening of February 5. The two coastal counties had complained that they couldn’t possibly hold an election on February 5, 2008, because that day is Mardi Gras. Many streets are closed for parades.

Illinois Senate Passes National Popular Vote Plan

May 31st, 2007

On May 31, the Illinois Senate passed HB 1685, the National Popular Vote Plan for presidential elections. The vote was 37-22. The bill had previously passed the Illinois House, but since the Senate amended it slightly, it must return to the House.

Some individuals say they are opposed to the National Popular Vote Plan because it subverts the intention of the Founding Fathers. Most historians believe that the Founding Fathers expected the electors to use their own judgment when they voted for president in the Electoral College. And even after the Electoral College had gone into operation, only a few states elected electors the way most states do today. For example, in 1792, the only states that elected their electors by popular vote at-large were Maryland, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. By contrast, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and Virginia elected their electors by congressional district. And Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Vermont, all let the state legislatures choose the electors.

South Carolina Government May Pay for Presidential Primaries

May 31st, 2007

South Carolina has long been the only state in which political parties pay for, and administer, their own presidential primaries. However, a bill is likely to pass to provide that the government should pay for them and administer them. Senate Bill 99 passed the Senate by voice vote on April 20. It was amended slightly in the House and passed the House on May 30, by 99-20. Now the Senate must decide whether to concur in the House amendments. Governor Mark Sanford says he is leaning toward vetoing the bill, but if he does, it is possible his veto will be overridden.

If the bill becomes law, all the qualified parties would be eligible for a government-funded presidential primary. That includes the Green, Libertarian and Constitution Parties. The bill provides that parties would still set the date of their own presidential primary, and sets up a state income tax-checkoff for voters who want to voluntarily help pay for the administration of presidential primaries.

Massachusetts Election-Day Registration Hearing

May 30th, 2007

On May 30, the Massachusetts Joint Election Laws Committee heard testimony on HB646 and SB446. No one testified against the bills. They would legalize election-day registration. Elections officials from Minnesota, Wisconsin and Maine all testified that it works well in their states. Massachusetts Secretary of State Bill Galvin also testified in favor, although he warned that it would cost money since he wants two additional precinct officials in each precinct, to handle the extra work.

Idaho Republican Party May Pass Bylaw Closing Primary

May 30th, 2007

The Idaho Republican Party Central Committee meets June 2 in Burley, Idaho. On the agenda is a proposal to pass a party bylaw, saying only members of the party may vote in its primary. If this bylaw proposal passes, the party would then bring a lawsuit to enforce it.

US House Vote on HR 811 Likely in Early June

May 30th, 2007

Congressman Rush Holt (D-NJ) expects a US House of Representatives vote on HR 811 soon after Congress re-convenes on Tuesday, June 5. HR 811 outlaws vote-counting machines that don’t leave a paper trail.

North Dakota Party Caucuses Will be February 5

May 30th, 2007

On May 25, North Dakota Secretary of State Al Jaeger announced that he is setting the dates of all party presidential caucuses on February 5. Even though the parties pay for their own caucuses, state law gives the Secretary of State authority to set the dates for their caucuses. Qualified parties in North Dakota are the Republican, Democratic, Libertarian and Constitution Parties.

In 2004, the North Dakota caucuses were also in February, but somewhat later in February.

Alaska Initiative for Non-Discriminatory Public Funding

May 30th, 2007

The Alaska Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) has just started circulating an initiative, for public funding for candidates for state office. The initiative does not discriminate for or against any candidate based on party affiliation. The text of the initiative can be seen here. The non-discriminatory aspect of the Alaska initiative matches the non-discriminatory characteristic of the existing “Clean Elections” laws in Maine and Arizona, but is in contrast to Connecticut’s law.

Alaska Major Parties Set Presidential Caucuses for February 5

May 30th, 2007

Last week, the Alaska Democratic Party decided to hold its presidential caucuses in 2008 on February 5. A few days later, the Alaska Republican Party also chose February 5. The parties announced this news on May 30. The local caucuses on February 5 will select delegates to a state convention. The state conventions of each major party will then choose the national delegates. The Democratic state convention will be May 23-25 and the Republican state convention will be March 13-15.

In the past, Alaska Republicans have held their local presidential caucuses in May, and Alaska Democrats have held theirs in March.

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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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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.