South Carolina Secretary of State Will Ask Attorney General About Votes for Same Candidate on Different Party Labels

June 26th, 2008

Although South Carolina has always permitted “fusion” (the ability for two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate, and be listed under each label on the ballot), South Carolina elections officials say they don’t know whether it is legal to add up the votes under each party label, to give the candidate credit for all the votes. The Secretary of State said on June 26 that he will ask for an Attorney General’s Opinion on this question.



Delaware Independent Party Faces Internal Dissention

June 26th, 2008

The Independent Party of Delaware has been ballot-qualified since 2000. Although Delaware allows two parties to jointly nominate the same candidate, the Independent Party of Delaware has never nominated a Democrat or a Republican for a statewide office. However, on June 19, the party held a nominating convention and nominated Republican Mike Protack for Governor. Protack is also expected to run in the Republican primary for Governor, to be held on September 9. Filing for the major party primaries is in July.

Many party activists disagree with the decision to nominate Protack, including Floyd McDowell, the party’s founder. The unhappy members of the party believe that the June 19 convention was not called in accordance with Party Bylaws, and they have complained to the State Election Commission. The Election Commission says the party has not even filed its Bylaws with the state, which is a legal problem for the party. See this article for more details.

Regardless of the validity of the June 19 convention, all factions in the party anticipate an additional state convention will be called, in August. The August convention would decide whether the party will nominate any candidates for presidential elector, and if so, whom they are pledged to. In 2004 the Independent Party nominated Ralph Nader for president.

Part of McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Law Struck Down

June 26th, 2008

On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled part of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law unconstitutional. Davis v Federal Election Commission, 07-320. The vote was 5-4. Here is the opinion.

This case concerned the “Millionaire’s Amendment”, which relaxes contribution limits for any congressional candidate who has a wealthy opponent. Specifically, if any congressional candidate spends at least $350,000 of his or her own funds on the campaign, then the opponents of that candidate are released from the $2,300 limit on contributions to their campaign. The majority opinion, by Justice Samuel Alito, says that the Constitution does not permit the government to set unequal contribution limits. The opinion’s key sentence, on page 16 of the majority opinion, says, “It is a dangerous business for Congress to use the election laws to influence the voters’ choices.” Also, on page 18, “The unprecedented step of imposing different contribution and coordinated party expenditure limits on candidates vying for the same seat is antithetical to the First Amendment.”

This language should make it easier to win lawsuits against state public funding laws which set unequal rewards for some candidates, relative to other candidates. Public funding laws in Maine, Arizona, and New Mexico, treat all candidates exactly the same. The public funding that formerly existed in Massachusetts also treated all candidates equally. But public funding laws in Connecticut and New Jersey, and a pending bill in California, do not treat all candidates the same; qualifications to get public funding are easier for Republicans and Democrats than for other candidates.

Justice Stevens dissented, and said that the 1976 U.S. Supreme Court decision Buckley v Valeo was mistaken when it struck down limits on campaign expenditures. He expressed the view that too much campaign advertising “obscures the issues.” He also said that “the Constitution does not require Congress to treat all declared candidates the same.” This contradicts his opinion in Cook v Gralike, 531 U.S. 510 (2001). In that opinion, he said states may not “favor or disfavor a class of candidates.” That decision struck down a Missouri state law that provided that candidates for Congress should have labels on the ballot that said what their position is, on amending the U.S. Constitution to provide for term limits for Congress.

Justices David Souter, Ruth Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer voted that the Millionaires’ Amendment is constitutional, but they didn’t join the portion of Justice Stevens’ dissent that said Buckley v Valeo should be overturned.

More Rhode Island Candidate Filings

June 26th, 2008

The list of independent presidential candidates who filed slates of presidential elector candidates in Rhode Island is: Ralph Nader, Denise McSheffrey, and Yonyuth Hongsakaphadana. These candidates now need at least 1,000 valid signatures, due September 5.

The list of unqualified parties that filed slates of presidential elector candidates in Rhode Island is (as reported yesterday): Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Socialism, Socialist, and Socialist Workers. They also each need 1,000 signatures by September 5. Any adult may circulate petitions in Rhode Island.

If all 9 petitioning candidates and groups succeed, there will be eleven presidential candidates on the Rhode Island November ballot, the most that state has ever had. The previous largest ballot Rhode Island ever had was in 2000, when 10 presidential candidates were listed.

For U.S. Senate, there are no minor party or independent candidates. For US House district 1, one independent filed; he needs 500 signatures by mid-July. For US House district 2, one Green filed; he also needs 500 signatures next month.

CNN Article on Kentucky Libertarian Nominee for U.S. Senate

June 25th, 2008

CNN has this story about Sonny Landham, Libertarian Party nominee for U.S. Senate in Kentucky this year. He has been an actor, and was in Predator. As the article notes, the cast of Predator (released in 1987) also included two actors who were destined to become Governors, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura.

Lengthy Washington Post Article on Ralph Nader

June 25th, 2008

The Washington Post has this lengthy article about Ralph Nader in its June 25 issue. Unfortunately, the article is mostly a re-hash of all the same points that have been written about Nader for years. There is no mention that the Post itself presented evidence in its October 22, 2004 issue, page one, that Nader was not injuring the Democratic presidential campaign in 2004. There is no mention that he is doing better with ballot access in 2008 than he was doing at this point in 2004. There is no mention that he seems likely to be the only non-major party presidential candidate who will receive primary season matching funds (unless Cynthia McKinney also qualifies). There is no mention of Nader’s very strong FEC complaint against the Democratic National Committee. That complaint charges that the Committee should have reported its extensive expenditures to keep him off the ballot in 2004 but did not do so.

Utah Republican Primary: Challenger Who Doesn’t Live in District Ousts Incumbent

June 25th, 2008

Utah held its primary (for office other than president) on June 24. Jason Chaffetz defeated incumbent Chris Cannon in the Republican primary, for the U.S. House, 3rd district. Chaffetz had been criticized during the campaign because he doesn’t live in the 3rd district. The U.S. Constitution forbids states from requiring candidates for the U.S. House to live in any particular district. However, it is considered unwise (for public relations reasons) for candidates to run in districts, if they don’t live in that district.

Chaffetz lives two miles from the boundary of the 3rd district. The 3rd district is centered on Provo, plus the southern suburbs of Salt Lake City, and is an overwhelmingly Republican district. Chaffetz lives in Alpine, which is in Utah County. Although most of Utah County is in the 3rd district, a small part of that county, including the city of Alpine, is in the 2nd district. Thanks to Rob Latham for this news.

Rhode Island Presidential Filings

June 25th, 2008

The Rhode Island petition deadline for independent presidential candidates, and the presidential candidates of unqualified parties, is not until September 5. However, groups that wish to circulate such petitions must turn in a declaration of candidacy for at least one candidate for presidential elector by 4 pm, Wednesday, June 25.

As of June 24, these groups had already filed a declaration of candidacy for at least one candidate for presidential elector: Constitution, Green, Libertarian, Socialist, Socialist Workers, and Socialism & Liberation. An electoral slate pledged to Ralph Nader should be filed on June 25, and possibly others will be filed on June 25.

Trivia Question

June 25th, 2008

The first person who answers this question gets a free one-year subscription to Ballot Access News (or, if already a subscriber, a free one-year renewal). Barack Obama will be the second presidential candidate in a general election whose name will have been printed on the ballot, whose surname begins with the letter “O”. Who was the first presidential candidate in a general election, whose name was printed on ballots, with a surname starting with “O”?

Put your answer in a comment. E-mail me separately to give me your postal address: richardwinger@yahoo.com.

On a related note, there has never been a presidential candidate on a ballot in a general election whose surname started with these letters: I, Q, X, and Y. UPDATE: I was wrong about “Y”; thanks to that scholarly commenter for correcting this!

U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Campaign Finance Case to be Released Thursday, June 26

June 25th, 2008

Although the U.S. Supreme Court released several full opinions on Wednesday, June 25, it did not release the campaign finance decision, Davis v Federal Election Commission. That means it will be released on June 26. June 26 is the last day the Court sits before it goes on summer recess. June 26 news coverage of the election law decision will be overshadowed by the simultaneous release of the Heller decision. The Heller case will determine whether the Second Amendment requires the invalidation of the District of Columbia law that bans handguns.

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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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Essays by Richard Winger:

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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!

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.