Michigan Democratic Party Says it Will Use Presidential Primary

August 31st, 2007

On August 31, the Michigan Democratic Party announced it will choose national convention delegates at the January 15 presidential primary (the bill moving the state’s primary passed yesterday, although the Governor still hasn’t signed it). This sets up a confrontation between the Michigan Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee, in which Michigan Democrats will be allied with Florida Democrats, against the national party rule not allowing any states except Nevada, South Carolina, Iowa and New Hampshire to choose delegates before February 5.

Meanwhile, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson, and Joe Biden, said they will refuse to campaign in states that violate the national party bylaw, during the primary season.



California National Popular Vote Bill Postponed Until 2008

August 31st, 2007

SB 37, the California National Popular Vote Plan bill, will not be brought up in the Assembly until next year. California legislative sessions last for two years, so the bill won’t need to start all over again. It passed the Senate several months ago. The sponsors feel that the controversy over a proposed Republican-backed initiative, to give each U.S. House district its own elector, will have been resolved one way or another by 2008, and the choices will be clearer for decisions about the electoral college.

Two Montana Minor Party Gubernatorial Candidates Ask U.S. Supreme Court to Hear Debates Case

August 31st, 2007

In 2004, the last time Montana elected a governor, there were four candidates on the November ballot, the nominees of the Democratic, Republican, Green and Libertarian Parties. The Montana University System sponsored a gubernatorial candidate’s debate and only invited the two major party nominees. The Green Party gubernatorial candidate, Robert Kelleher, who was also an attorney, sued the University System on behalf of himself and the Libertarian nominee, Stan Jones. They did not prevail in the lower court, so they appealed to the Montana Supreme Court. That court heard the case on November 9, 2005, and ruled against the plaintiffs on March 23, 2007, although there was one dissenter. Now the case has been appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. It is Jones v Montana University System, 07-223.

Florida Democratic Party Official Sues Democratic National Committee Over Delegates to National Convention

August 31st, 2007

On August 30, a member of the Hillsborough County Democratic Executive Committee filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Democratic National Committee. The lawsuit attacks the National Committee’s rule barring Florida from having any delegates to the 2008 national convention. It is DiMaio v Democratic National Committee, in U.S. District Court, Middle District, no. 07-cv-1552. It was assigned by Judge Richard Lazzara, a Clinton appointee. The complaint is here.

Anti-Initiative Bill Will Get Vote in California Assembly Next Week

August 31st, 2007

State Senator Jenny Oropeza plans ask the California Assembly to pass SB 408 next week. The bill makes it illegal for anyone to circulate a statewide initiative, unless that person had been registered to vote (or had been eligible to be registered to vote) at the time of the previous election. This would make it impossible for people who had not yet been 18 years of age in the last election, or people who had moved into California since the last election, to circulate a statewide initiative.

US Supreme Court Puts Indiana Voter Photo-ID Case on September 24 Conference

August 30th, 2007

The U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to hear Indiana Democratic Party v Rokita, 07-25, at its September 24 conference. This is the case challenging the Indiana law that requires voters at the polls to show government photo-ID. The 7th circuit had upheld that law by a vote of 2-1.

September 24 is also the day the U.S. Supreme Court will be considering whether to accept the Pennsylvania ballot access case, Rogers v Cortez.

Michigan Legislature Passes January 15 Primary Bill

August 30th, 2007

On August 30, the Michigan legislature passed SB 624, which says that the presidential primary will be on January 15. The Governor is expected to sign it. However, Michigan Democrats may decide not to use the primary, and use caucuses instead.

Post Office Surveys First Amendment Activity on Its Own Sidewalks

August 30th, 2007

In 2000, the Initiative & Referendum Institute filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Postal Service against a regulation passed that year that makes it illegal for petitioning to occur on post office sidewalks. The part of the case involving interior postal sidewalks is still in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. Recently, the judge in the case asked the postal service to send a survey to all postmasters, asking to what extent people have used interior postal sidewalks for First Amendment activity, including petitioning. The results should be known in a month. “Interior sidewalks” means sidewalks that lead from the street to the post office, or to its parking lot, or between the parking lot and the post office itself.

Florida Democratic Fund-Raisers Threaten Democratic National Committee Over Primary Decision

August 30th, 2007

Two Florida Democrats who have raised a large amount of money for the Democratic Party in the past are threatening to withhold all future financial assistance to the Democratic National Committee, if that Committee eliminates all Florida delegates to the 2008 national convention.

Wayne Hogan and his wife have donated more than $730,000 to units of the Democratic Party and its nominees during the past ten years. Also he was the Democratic nominee for U.S. House in the 7th district in 2002, and he spent over $2,000,000 of his own money on his campaign. On August 28, he cancelled a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee that he had planned to host. He said he will also refuse to help the Committee in the future, unless it reverses its decision to deny Florida any delegates to the 2008 national convention.

Dick Batchelor, another Florida fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, said, “If Wayne Hogan turns off the spigot, other people will follow suit. Why should I support the national party when they’re basically vaporizing the influence our delegates would have in the nominating process?”

Florida Democrats could have their delegates restored if they agreed not to use the January 29 presidential primary to elect delegates. But Florida Democrats say setting up a caucus procedure in February would be far too expensive and complicated, especially with so little time to plan caucuses. The Florida Democartic Party has used a presidential primary to choose convention delegates since 1928.

Unity08 Qualifies as a Party in Florida

August 29th, 2007

Unity08 has become a qualified party in Florida. Florida law makes it very easy for groups to become qualified; they merely inform the state of the names and contact information for the state officers of the party.

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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.
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