New Jersey Assembly Passes Bill to Let Secretary of State Choose Primary Dates

September 26th, 2008

On September 25, the New Jersey Assembly unanimously passed A.3186. It gives the Secretary of State sole discretion to move the date of any primary, if the statutory date for that primary “coincides with a period of religious observance that limits significantly the usual activities of the followers of a particular religion or that would result in significant religious consequences for such followers.” Here is a copy of the bill.



Mike Huckabee Says McCain Made “A Huge Mistake” Even Talking About Skipping the Debate

September 26th, 2008

Mike Huckabee, a leading contender for this year’s Republican presidential nomination, said on the evening of September 25 that John McCain made “a huge mistake” even talking about not attending the September 26 presidential debate. See this article. He, like so many others, talks about “the two candidates” for president.

If McCain Doesn’t Debate, Debates Commission Cannot Just Feature Obama

September 25th, 2008

As of Thursday evening, virtually no one knows if John McCain will participate in the first presidential debate set for Friday evening in Oxford, Mississippi. Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair of the Commission on Presidential Debates, and a former Republican Party national chair, said in an interview with Salon, “The law requires that there must be two candidates for a debate. If we did anything else, we would be making an in-kind contribution to the Obama campaign.” Of course, what he really meant is that there must be at least two candidates in a debate. In 1980, when the League of Women Voters was hosting presidential debates, the League invited President Jimmy Carter, Republican nominee Ronald Reagan, and independent candidate John B. Anderson. Carter refused to participate, so the debate was conducted between Anderson and Reagan. Both did well and neither damaged himself. Later in the season there was one Reagan-Carter debate, on October 26.

Daily Kos, on Thursday evening, invited comments on the subject of “Whom should Obama debate?” (if McCain doesn’t participate). One commenter at 7:09 p.m. Pacific time said, “Why not let Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, and Cynthia McKinney debate Obama? It couldn’t hurt to hear their positions, and Obama would benefit by reaching out toward left-leaning independents with the gesture.”

Another commenter, at 7:16 p.m., said, “It couldn’t hurt to hear their positions? Yes it could. I am in full agreement that we need to reach out to all voters — specially those who feel let down by Obama’s bouts of centrist triangulation. We won’t get them by including those three…if it is outreach we need, we already know how to do that. Giving these people a forum they would otherwise never have gained does us no good at all. The risks of Obama looking bad in such an encounter are also far too great.”

Still another commenter, at 7:12 p.m., said, “Ralph Nader. Except that would be a real debate and the network would never allow that.”

Pennsylvania Says Voters At Polls May Wear Clothing that Mentions Candidates

September 25th, 2008

The Pennsylvania Elections Department has sent this 2-page letter to county boards of election, suggesting that the counties permit voters at the polls to wear T-shirts and buttons that mention candidates. Thanks to Daily Kos for the link.

Independent Congressional Ballot Access Hearing in Illinois

September 25th, 2008

The 7th circuit held oral arguments on September 25 in Stevo v Keith, 08-3218. The issue is the Illinois law which requires independent candidates for the U.S. House to collect over 10,000 signatures in some election years, but exactly 5,000 in other election years. The three judges were Richard Posner and Joel Flaum (Reagan appointees) and Richard Cudahy (a Carter appointee). The plaintiff, Allan Stevo, submitted 7,200 signatures, which would have been enough in 2002 or 2012, but were not enough this year. A decision is expected very soon. Almost 50 supporters of Stevo attended the hearing.

Louisiana Appeals Decision that put Barr on the Ballot

September 25th, 2008

On September 25, Louisiana filed a notice of appeal with the 5th circuit, in the case over whether Bob Barr should be on the ballot. The issue is the deadline, and its relationship to the bad weather that closed the Secretary of State’s office during the first week in September. Since the state is appealing, Brian Moore (who, unlike Bob Barr, had not been given any relief by the U.S. District Court), can automatically cross-appeal in the same proceedings in the 5th circuit. The U.S. District Court still hasn’t issued its written opinion, so it is difficult to analyze all the issues. Also it is still murky as to whether the Reform Party has any chance for relief. The Reform Party was not part of the lawsuit but it has the same problem, and it (like the Libertarian Party) is a qualified party in Louisiana.

Mississippi Court Rules Against Brian Moore

September 25th, 2008

On September 25, a U.S. District Court in Mississippi ruled against Brian Moore, in the lawsuit to place him on the ballot as the presidential nominee of the Natural Law Party. The issue was whether the state should have accepted his paperwork, which was submitted on the deadline at 5:10 p.m. He plans to appeal. Thanks to Darcy Richardson for this news. The judge ruled orally from the bench; nothing is in writing yet.

Hearing on Oklahoma Ban on Out-of-State Circulators Goes Well

September 25th, 2008

On September 25, the 10th circuit held oral arguments in Yes on Term Limits v Savage, 07-6233. The three judges were Michael R. Murphy (a Clinton appointee), Monroe G. McKay (a Carter appointee), and Michael McConnell (a Bush Jr. appointee). The issue is Oklahoma’s ban on out-of-state initiative circulators. The panel seemed somewhat skeptical of Oklahoma’s theory that out-of-state circulators are intrinsically prone to committing forgery, yet in-state circulators are not.

Three Important Ballot Access Hearings Set for September 25

September 24th, 2008

September 25 is a day with three important ballot access hearings. The 10th circuit will hear Yes on Term Limits v Savage, to determine if the U.S. Constitution permits states to criminalize out-of-state initiative petition circulators. The 7th circuit will hear Stevo v Keith, over whether there is any state interest in requiring independent candidates for U.S. House to get over 10,000 valid signatures in some election years, but exactly 5,000 signatures in other election years. And a U.S. District Court in Jackson, Mississippi, will decide whether Brian Moore’s paperwork (to be on the ballot for president) should have been accepted. He submitted the paperwork at 5:10 p.m. The election law only specifies the day of the deadline, not the hour (many other states specify some particular hour on the deadline day). But Mississippi said he was ten minutes too late.

Working Families Party Has Candidates in Four States

September 24th, 2008

The Working Families Party, which started out in 1998 as a party only in New York state, has been expanding into other states. This year it has candidates for partisan office for the first time in Oregon and Delaware. It also has candidates in New York and Connecticut, as it did in 2006 and 2004.

In Delaware, the Democratic Party has exerted considerable pressure on all Democratic nominees, not to accept the nomination of the Working Families Party as well (Delaware permits fusion). However, this year in Delaware, three Democrats bucked their own party and accepted the Working Families nomination. The Working Families Party also cross-endorsed three Republican nominees for state house.

The Working Families Party tried to have nominees this year in South Carolina, but Democratic Party officials persuaded various Democrats not to accept the WFP cross-endorsement.

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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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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]

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