2008 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
(updated September 26, 2008)
TOTAL STATES ON THE BALLOT
Libertarian Party
Green Party
Constitution Party
Nader (Indep.)
45
32
37
46
 
     

Cynthia McKinney Runs in California Peace & Freedom Presidential Primary

October 29th, 2007

The California Peace & Freedom presidential primary ballot will include Cynthia McKinney. She is also appearing on the California Green Party presidential primary. That makes two individuals who are running in two simultaneous presidential primaries in the same state; the other is Ralph Nader, also in those same two California parties. It is believed that McKinney and Nader are the first two individuals in history to have their names on the ballot for president in two political party presidential primaries (in the same state) simultaneously.

The final list of which candidates are appearing on each California party’s presidential primary will be set on November 7.



Hearing Set in Michigan Lawsuit on Voter List

October 29th, 2007

A state court in Michigan has set a hearing date of November 7, at 10 a.m., in Grebner v State. This is the lawsuit over whether the state may give the list of people who choose a Republican presidential primary ballot to the Republican Party, but otherwise keep the list a secret (and to do likewise for the Democrats). The case is in Ingham County Circuit Court, no. 07-1507-cz.

Meanwhile, a bill to cancel the Michigan 2008 presidential primary is pending in the House Oversight and Investigation Committee, but no hearing has been scheduled. That bill is HB 5353.

Arizona Government Will Not Appeal Libertarian Party Primary Decision

October 29th, 2007

On October 26, the Arizona Secretary of State and Attorney General’s offices let it be known that the state will not appeal the Libertarian Party primary election decision. That decision, handed down in U.S. District Court on September 25, had said that parties are free to exclude independents from voting in their primaries.

Iowa Democratic Caucus To Be January 3

October 28th, 2007

On October 28, the Iowa Democratic Party set its caucus date: January 3. It is now likely that New Hampshire will set its presidential primary at a later date within the first half of January. Thanks to Tony Roza for this news.

Root Ramps Up Campaign for Libertarian Nomination

October 28th, 2007

Wayne Allyn Root, a contender for the Libertarian presidential nomination, spoke at the Conservative Leadership Conference in Sparks, Nevada, on October 12. Approximately 500 people attended the conference. The only other presidential candidates who spoke there were Mitt Romney, Duncan Hunter, and Alan Keyes. Root has posted his 35-minute speech at his web site, http://root4america.com. He suggests that if one doesn’t wish to watch the entire speech, the last segment is his best (one may choose to watch parts 1,2,3,4 or 5). Thanks to ThirdPartyWatch.

Voting Rights Historian Comments On California Republican Initiative to Alter Electoral College

October 28th, 2007

Alexander Keyssar has written this op-ed in the Los Angeles Times of October 28. It is titled “Dump Winner-Take-All” and analyzes the proposed California Republican initiative to elect one presidential elector from each U.S. House district. Keyssar has written “The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the U.S.”, and is considered the primary expert among historians on the history of voting rights. He is at Harvard. Of course, he argues that if the Republican Party thinks electing one elector from each U.S. House district is good policy, that the national party should be working for this nationwide, not just in states in which the Republican Party would benefit.

George F. Will Column for Newsweek on Presidential Primary Timing

October 28th, 2007

George F. Will has written a very scholarly, yet entertaining, column on the bills in Congress to regulate the dates of presidential primaries. See it here, courtesy of Newsweek. Thanks to Rick Hasen’s Electionlawblog for this.

Mike Gravel Defies Democratic National Committee, Shows up at Florida Democratic Convention

October 27th, 2007

The Florida Democratic Party is holding a state convention. On October 27, Mike Gravel became the only person seeking the Democratic presidential nomination who spoke at the Florida meeting. The other contenders stayed away because the Democratic National Committee asked all Democrats running for president not to campaign in Michigan and Florida until after February 5, 2008. All the other Democratic presidential candidates complied. Florida Democratic State Senate Leader Steve Geller thereupon withdrew his previous endorsement of John Edwards, and endorsed Gravel.

Colorado Now Printing Party Names on Voter Registration Forms

October 27th, 2007

Colorado’s Secretary of State has revised the voter registration form. Colorado had been one of the few states that has registration by party, but which didn’t list the qualified parties. Instead, the person filing out the form had to write-in the party of his or her choice.

The new form, instead, lists the five qualified parties (Republican, Democratic, American Constitution, Green and Libertarian) and gives a checkbox for each. It also has a blank line for voters who want to register into an unqualified party.

Court Sets Hearing for Idaho Lawsuit Against Open Primary

October 27th, 2007

The U.S. District Court in Idaho has set oral arguments for Beck v Ysursa, the lawsuit filed by 72 Idaho Republican Party officers, legislators and activists to let the Idaho Republican Party close its primary. The hearing is on November 15. Thanks to Steve Rankin for this news. The state will try to get the lawsuit thrown out, since the Idaho Republican Party itself is not a co-plaintiff.

 

 

Paper Issues:

Blog Archives Syndication

Subscribe to Ballot Access News via PayPal. Subscriptions are $15 for 12 issues a year ($20 foreign). Additional donations are welcome.

Subscribe to Ballot Access News via PayPal.

If you use your credit card to pay via PayPal, use this button.
New Feature:
Search Ballot Access News

Search ballot-access.org
Search WWW

 

Access to this site is free. Your donations support this site and the activities of Richard Winger in lobbying for free and open elections.

To subscribe via mail, click here and print out the form to mail.

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.

Issues available:

2008:

2007:

2006:

2005:

2004:

2003:

2002:

2001:

2000:

1999:

1998:

1997:

1996:

1995:

1994:

1993:

  • 1993 Issues not yet available online

Essays by Richard Winger:

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.