2008 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
(updated October 6, 2008)
TOTAL STATES ON THE BALLOT
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Constitution Party
Nader (Indep.)
45
32
37
46
 
     

Broward County, Florida, School Board Member Says Socialist Workers Party is Inconsistent with “Character Values”

August 29th, 2007

Broward County, Florida, requires high school seniors to complete 20 hours of community service, to graduate. On August 17, the County School Board amended the policy to include political campaigning as part of the definition of “community service.” County Board member Robert Parks opposed the change. He said, “This has all the features of controversy. It opens up a whole new bag of worms. There are approximately 24 political parties registered in Broward County. Some of the parties, such as the Socialist Workers Party, are inconsistent with the character values of this school district.” However, Parks was outvoted.



Green Party Chooses Chicago for National Convention

August 29th, 2007

On August 28, the national committee of the Green Party chose Chicago as the site of the 2008 national convention. One factor boosting Chicago was that the Green Party of Illinois is a fully-qualified party in Illinois, as a result of having polled over 5% for Governor in 2006. The Green Party is the first nationally-organized third party to be fully ballot-qualified in Illinois since 1922. So, by choosing Chicago, the party highlights that success in Illinois.

The convention dates are July 10-13, 2008.

Wyoming Republicans Will Choose Some National Convention Delegates on January 5

August 29th, 2007

On August 25, the Wyoming Republican Party moved the dates of its county conventions in 2008 to January 5. The county conventions will choose 12 of the party’s 28 delegates to the national convention. The other 16 delegates will be chosen at the state convention on May 30, 2008.

The national Republican rules do not try to dictate when state parties choose delegates; the national Republican rules only control when states hold primaries to choose delegates. Therefore, this Wyoming change does not violate national Republican Party rules. Thanks to Thomas Jones for this news.

Two California Election Law Bills May Get Assembly Vote on August 29 or August 30

August 29th, 2007

Two interesting California election law bills may receive a vote in the Assembly on August 29 or August 30. One is the National Popular Vote Plan, SB 37. The other bill would make it more difficult for initiatives to get on the ballot, by restricting who can circulate a petition. It is SB 408.

Minnesota Democrats Move Caucuses from March to February

August 28th, 2007

On August 25, the Minnesota Democratic Party decided to move its presidential caucuses from March 4 to February 5. Thanks to politicalwire for this news.

Green Party National Committee Resolves To Run a Strong Presidential Campaign

August 28th, 2007

The Green Party National Committee passed this resolution on August 26, by a vote of 113-10: “Whereas the GPUS National Committee has clearly stated, through passage of Proposal 218, a commitment to run “full out” campaigns, and Whereas running “full out” requires gathering the greatest amount of resources such that a campaign can be as strong as possible, and Whereas the reality of modern American politics is that the longer we wait to make our involvement clear, the more resources we will lose, and Whereas past election cycles have demonstrated the absolute necessity of making it clear that we will hold a competitive nomination process culminating in our quadrennial presidential nominating convention lest we send mixed signals to Greens, prospective candidates, the media, and the public at large, and Whereas prospective presidential candidates considering whether to run as a Green will look for clarity from the national party as to intentions for 2008, and will be encouraged by a party with determination to run, Be it Therefore Resolved that it is the firm intention of the Green National Committee that the Green Party will nominate a presidential ticket at its 2008 convention, and Be it Further Resolved that it is the firm intention of the Green National Committee to strengthen our eventual ticket by generating and applying resources to ensure, among other things, that we will maximize the number of ballot lines on which our nominees will appear, and Be it Further Resolved that the Green National Committee hereby directs its officers and committees, when addressing the matter of the party’s intentions in 2008, and to the extent appropriate given the context of any such public statements, that the Green Party is conducting a contested presidential nomination process and that we will be nominating a presidential ticket at our 2008 convention.”

Republican National Committee Plans to Penalize Early Primary States

August 28th, 2007

According to this article in the New York Times of August 29, the Republican National Committee expects to deprive any state of half its delegates to the national convention, if that state chooses delegates by primary before February 5. The Republican national rule, unlike the Democratic national rule, doesn’t regulate caucus dates.

Maine Secretary of State Proposes Ending State-Financed Primaries

August 28th, 2007

On August 24, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap proposed that the state legislature abolish primary elections. He says the state can’t afford the $300,000 every other year for primaries, and says that the parties are capable of nominating by caucuses, at their own expense. Dunlap was co-hosting the radio show “Maine in the Morning” when he made this suggestion. In Maine, the Secretary of State is appointed by the legislature rather than being elected by the voters. Dunlap is a Democrat. The legislature won’t be in session until 2008.

California Assembly Passes Helpful Write-in Bill

August 28th, 2007

On August 27, the California Assembly passed SB 439 on a voice vote. It legalizes write-ins in instances when the voter forgets to “x” the box next to the name written in. Since the bill is worded slightly differently than the Senate version of the bill, it now returns to the Senate.

A similar bill passed the legislature last year, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed it.

California Bill for Iraq Referendum Passes Assembly

August 27th, 2007

On August 27, the California Assembly passed SB 924. It directs the Secretary of State to place a referendum on the February 5, 2007 ballot, asking the voters if the United States should “achieve the immediate, complete, safe and orderly withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq.” Because the Assembly version differs slightly from the version passed by the State Senate, the bill now returns to the State Senate. Then it goes to the Governor’s desk. The vote in the Assembly was 43-32.

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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!

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  • 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]

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