2008 VOTES FOR PRESIDENT
Top 4 Minor Candidates
(updated November 30, 2008: 100% Precincts Reporting Nationwide)
Nader
Independent
Barr
Libertarian Party
Baldwin
Constitution Party
McKinney
Green Party
725,696
520,386
192,255
158,184
 
     

California Governor Vetoes National Popular Vote Bill

September 30th, 2008

On the evening of September 30, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 37, the National Popular Vote Plan bill. His veto message said the voters should vote on the idea.



Georgia U.S. Senate Poll

September 30th, 2008

A SurveyUSA poll released on September 30 shows that no candidate has majority support in the Georgia U.S. Senate race. The poll shows: Saxby Chambliss (Rep.) 46%, Jim Martin (Dem.) 44%, Allen Buckley (Libt.) 5%, undecided 5%.

Networks, AP, Sue Minnesota over Restriction on Exit Pollsters

September 30th, 2008

On September 29, the Associated Press, the TV networks, and the Edison-Mitofsky Company sued the Minnesota Secretary of State over a law passed this year that bars exit pollsters within 100 feet of any building which houses a polling station. Minnesota is the only state with such a restriction on exit pollsters.

The exit polling company and the TV networks always win these cases. Earlier this year they sued South Dakota and won; South Dakota didn’t even contest the case, but merely gave in. Thanks to Ed Still’s VoteLawBlog for this news.

Schwarzenegger Vetoes Bill That Eliminated Some Discrimination Against Communist Party Members

September 30th, 2008

Late on the evening of September 29, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed SB 1322, which would have removed some of the old unconstitutional laws on the books that discriminate against present and past members of the Communist Party. However, his office has not yet put out a press release, so his veto message is not available yet. UPDATE: here is the veto message. It doesn’t even acknowledge that the laws sought to be repealed were held unconstitutional by the California Supreme Court in 1967.

Although SB 1322 was not an election law bill, it had ramifications for election law. California is one of six states that still has laws on the books barring Communists from running for office. If SB 1322 (which dealt with the education code) had become law, those election laws might have been easier to change.

North Carolina Public Policy Poll for President, U.S. Senate

September 29th, 2008

Public Policy Polling released a North Carolina poll on September 29. For president, the results are: Obama 47%, McCain 45%, Barr 3%, undecided 5%. For U.S. Senate, Kay Hagan (Dem.) 46%, Elizabeth Dole (Rep.) 38%, Christopher Cole 6% (Libt.), undecided 10%. For more details, see here. Thanks to DailyKos for the link.

New Mexico Secretary of State Misinformation Robs the Green and Libertarian Parties of Their Place on Income Tax Check-Off

September 29th, 2008

The New Mexico Green Party has been continuously ballot-qualified since 1992, and the New Mexico Libertarian Party has been continuously ballot-qualified since it completed its last party petition in late 2005. Under New Mexico’s Tax Code, section 7-2-31, all qualified parties (whether qualified minor parties, or qualified major parties) should be listed on the state income tax form. This is so that a taxpayer can choose to send a contribution to any listed party.

However, the 2007 New Mexico income tax form lists only the Democratic and Republican Parties. The state tax office says the Secretary of State informed the tax office that only the Democratic and Republican Parties are ballot-qualified.

U.S. Supreme Court Asks Louisiana To Respond to Barr Appeal

September 29th, 2008

On September 29, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia asked the Louisiana Secretary of State to respond to the Libertarian Party’s request for an injunction to put Bob Barr on the ballot. The state’s response is due Wednesday afternoon, and then the Libertarian Party may respond by Friday. The original filing in the U.S. Supreme Court by the Libertarian Party had not mentioned that Louisiana does not even hold its congressional primary until October 4 (Saturday). Perhaps the party’s response can mention that fact. The case number in the U.S. Supreme Court is 08A269.

“The Power of the Other Candidates” Op-Ed in Los Angeles Times

September 29th, 2008

The Los Angeles Times of September 29 has this op-ed by pollster Doug Schoen about the minor party and independent presidential candidates this year. Thanks to Professor David Gillespie for the link.

Court Hearing Set for IRV in Minneapolis

September 28th, 2008

A Minnesota district court will hear oral arguments in Minnesota Voters Alliance v City of Minneapolis on October 8, at 8:30 a.m. The case is Minnesota Voters Alliance v City of Minneapolis, 27-cv-08-15. The issue is whether there is anything in the Minnesota Constitution that would prevent a city from instituting Instant-Runoff Voting for its own city elections. Both sides are very passionate, so if you happen to live in or near Minneapolis and wish to attend, it may be necessary to get to the courtroom early to get a seat. The hearing is in room 1355 of the Government Center, 300 So. 6th St., Minneapolis.

Trevor Lyman Works for 6-Candidate Presidential Debate

September 28th, 2008

Trevor Lyman, the person who organized the Ron Paul money bombs, has launched an effort to create a six-person presidential debate in New York city in October. The six candidates would be the six individuals who are on the ballot in states containing a majority of the electoral college: Chuck Baldwin, Bob Barr, John McCain, Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader, and Barack Obama. Lyman will go ahead if he gets financial contributions (in any amount) from at least 10,000 individuals. He already has pledges from 702 individuals. The pledges would go toward the cost of holding the event, not to the candidates’ campaigns.

It is most unlikely that either Barack Obama or John McCain would participate, since they have presumably already signed a contract with the Commission on Presidential Debates, promising that they would not participate in any other general election presidential debates.

For more information, go here, to Lyman’s webpage, thirdpartyticket.com.

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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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  • 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.
    [Added:000823]

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