December 2011 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Ballot Access News
December 1, 2011 – Volume 27, Number 7

This issue was printed on white paper.


Table of Contents

  1. TWO FORMER REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS LIKELY TO SEEK MINOR PARTY PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS
  2. ROCKY ANDERSON FOUNDS NEW PARTY
  3. CALIFORNIA MINOR PARTIES FILE NEW LAWSUIT ON TOP-TWO
  4. NINTH CIRCUIT HEARS TOP-TWO CASE
  5. OTHER LAWSUIT NEWS
  6. MAINE VOTERS SAVE ELECTION-DAY REGISTRATION
  7. OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE PUTS FIVE PARTIES ON BALLOT
  8. DATES OF U.S. HOUSE PRIMARIES
  9. 2012 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
  10. FOUR INDEPENDENTS ELECTED TO STATE LEGISLATURES
  11. MINOR PARTIES IN 2011 ELECTIONS
  12. MINOR PARTY PARTISAN WINS
  13. SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL

TWO FORMER REPUBLICAN GOVERNORS LIKELY TO SEEK MINOR PARTY PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATIONS

During November, two former Republican Governors stated publicly that they are seriously thinking about seeking the presidential nomination of a minor party. On November 25, Gary Johnson told the Santa Fe New Mexican that he is seriously considering seeking the Libertarian Party presidential nomination, and on November 29 he said he won’t pursue the Republican nomination. And on November 30, Buddy Roemer said on the Neil Cavuto show on Fox News that he had decided to seek the Americans Elect nomination.

Never before in U.S. history have two former Governors run in the same presidential general election as nominees of minor or new parties.

Gary Johnson

Gary Johnson was elected Governor of New Mexico as a Republican in November 1994.with 49.8% of the vote. He benefited from the presence of a strong Green Party nominee, Roberto Mondragon, who polled 10.3%. In 1998, Johnson was re-elected with 54.5%. In 1999 he called for the decriminalization of marijuana, and some Libertarian Party activists then tried to persuade him to seek the Libertarian presidential nomination in 2000, although he was not then interested.

If Johnson becomes the Libertarian nominee, he would be only the third person to run for President as a minor party nominee after having served two terms as a Governor. The others are John P. St. John, who was the 1884 Prohibition Party presidential nominee and who had served two terms as a Republican Governor of Kansas; and Robert La Follette Sr., an independent Progressive candidate for President in 1924 who had served three terms as a Republican Governor of Wisconsin.

Buddy Roemer

Buddy Roemer was elected to Congress as a Democrat from Louisiana in 1980. He remained in the U.S. House until he was elected Governor in 1987. In 1991 he sought a second term, switching from Democratic to Republican in March, but he was defeated, placing third behind Edwin Edwards and David Duke.

If Roemer becomes Americans Elect’s nominee, he will be only the fourth person to be the presidential nominee of a new or minor party who had previously served both as a member of Congress and a Governor. The others are Martin Van Buren, Free Soil Party presidential nominee in 1848 (who was also an ex-President); Benjamin F. Butler, Greenback Party presidential nominee in 1884; J. Frank Hanly, Prohibition Party presidential nominee in 1916; and Robert La Follette.

On November 28, Roemer told a reporter that his ideal vice-presidential running mate would be U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman. However, later that day, Senator Lieberman said he was pleased to be considered, but that he was not interested in running for Vice-President again.


ROCKY ANDERSON FOUNDS NEW PARTY

On November 29, former Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson said that he intends to found a new political party, and also to seek that party’s presidential nomination this year. He says the party will be called either the Justice Party, or the National Interest Party.

The party will be launched at a national convention in Salt Lake City, February 18-20.

Anderson resigned from the Democratic Party on August 12, 2011, saying, "The Constitution has been eviscerated while Democrats have stood by with nary a whimper. It is a gutless, unprincipled party, bought and paid for by the same interests that buy and pay for the Republican Party." He had been the Democratic nominee for U.S. House in 1996, polling 42.4%. He was elected Mayor of Salt Lake City in 1999, and re-elected in 2003. He worked closely with Mitt Romney when Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 winter Olympics.


CALIFORNIA MINOR PARTIES FILE NEW LAWSUIT ON TOP-TWO

On November 21, the Peace & Freedom and Libertarian Parties of California, and the Green Party of Alameda County, jointly filed a lawsuit against Proposition 14, the "top-two primary" measure passed by the voters in June 2010 with 53.7% of the vote. The case is Rubin v Bowen, RG 11-605301, in Alameda County Superior Court. There are individual voter co-plaintiffs as well, and also plaintiffs who intend to run for Congress and state office in 2012.

This is the first law
suit in California that alleges that the essence of Proposition 14 is unconstitutional. Last year, some voters and candidates had filed lawsuits in both federal and state court, alleging that two particular aspects of California’s law are unconstitutional. Those lawsuits are still pending, and are called Field v Bowen and Chamness v Bowen. Those lawsuits have no political party plaintiffs.

The new lawsuit argues that the law is unconstitutional on ballot access grounds, and also on freedom of association grounds.


NINTH CIRCUIT HEARS TOP-TWO CASE

On November 29, the Ninth Circuit held arguments in Washington Republican Party v State, 11-35125. This is the case filed in 2005 by the Democratic, Republican and Libertarian Parties, against the top-two system that voters passed in 2004. In 2005, the U.S. District Court had found the system unconstitutional. In 2006, the 9th circuit had agreed that it is unconstitutional. In March 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court had ruled that top-two does not violate Freedom of Association on its face, but that it might as applied. The U.S. Supreme Court also didn’t decide the ballot access and trademark arguments against the system.

Because the U.S. Supreme Court left so much of the case undecided, the case went back to the lower courts. The Ninth Circuit permitted one hour for the argument, and focused entirely on the Freedom of Association issue (except for two minutes on the side issue of Attorneys’ fees).

The Washington ballot lists all candidates on a single primary ballot, and all voters use that ballot. For partisan office, the ballot says, after the name of each candidate, "Prefers (whichever) Party", such as "Prefers Democratic Party" or "Prefers GOP". Candidates can choose any "preference" they wish, as long as it is not obscene and fewer than 17 letters.

The Supreme Court wants the lower courts to determine if this system mistakenly causes voters to believe that the parties mentioned on the ballot have nominated that candidate, or approve of that candidate, or that the candidate is a member of that party. Washington does not have registration by party.

The top of the ballot says, "Each candidate for partisan office may state a political party that he or she prefers. A candidate’s preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate."

The state says that because it puts this statement on ballots, and in the general election Voters Pamphlet (there is no Pamphlet for the primary), and because it has advertised this statement, it has done everything it can to eliminate confusion.

The parties argue that the judges should use the social science evidence they presented in this case to determine that a large share of the voters do misunderstand the party name on the ballot, and therefore it is unconstitutional for the same reason that the blanket primary was held unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in California Democratic Party v Jones in 2000. It is unconstitutional for a state government to tell parties that they must let outsiders help choose their nominees, but Washington state counters that by saying parties don’t have nominees. Two of the judges, Raymond Fisher and Milan Smith, seemed genuinely undecided. The third judge, Dorothy Nelson, seemed to agree with the state.

The three parties in the lawsuit decided to let the Democratic Party’s attorney, David McDonald, be the only attorney to speak. McDonald wanted to bring up the ballot access issue, but the judges dominated the agenda with aggressive questioning, and he had no opportunity to mention ballot access. The state’s case was argued by two attorneys, one representing the Grange.


OTHER LAWSUIT NEWS

Colorado: on October 11, the State Supreme Court returned the lawsuit Riddle v Ritter back to U.S. District Court. The issue is a law that lets someone contribute $400 to a candidate for the legislature who is nominated by primary, but only $200 if the candidate is nominated by convention or petition. The U.S. District Court had sent the case to the State Supreme Court to see if the law might violate the state Constitution, but the State Supreme Court declined to answer (after sitting on the case for a year), so now the U.S. District Court will decide the case.

District of Columbia: on February 10, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals, D.C. Circuit, will hear Libertarian Party v D.C. Board of Elections on February 10, 2012. This is the case over whether election officials must count write-ins for declared presidential write-in candidates.

Illinois: on November 23, a state Circuit Court in Chicago ruled that the Green Party is not a qualified party in any U.S. House or legislative district, even though the party polled over 5% of the vote in 2010 in four U.S. House districts, and 4 state legislative districts. State law says a party is qualified in a district if it polled at least 5% in the last election, but the state, and the judges, believe that such status is terminated if redistricting alters the boundaries of the district. Schmidt v State Board of Elections. The party is appealing.

Kansas: on January 18, 2012, the Tenth Circuit will hear Constitution Party of Kansas v Biggs, 11-3152, over whether voters must be allowed to register into parties that are not qualified but which participate in Kansas elections anyway.

Maryland: on October 24, the highest state court (the State Court of Appeals) said it will hear the state’s appeal in State Board of Elections v Libertarian Party. The issue is whether signatures are valid when the voter who signed a petition can be identified as a registered, but there is a slight difference between the name and address as shown on the petition, versus how it appears on the voter registration form. The Libertarian and Green Parties had won this case in the court below.

Massachusetts: all the briefs are now filed with the State Supreme Court in Libertarian Political Association v Galvin, sj2011-0348. The issue is whether state law permits unqualified parties to use presidential stand-ins on their petition, so as to be able to be circulating the petition before the party has chosen its national ticket.

Montana: on November 22, new briefs were filed in Kelly v Johnson, the case in U.S. District Court over the March petition deadline for non-presidential independents. The case had been filed in 2008 but has never had a substantive ruling because the lower court judge had earlier ruled the plaintiffs lack standing. The 9th circuit had reversed that, and sent it back for a decision on the merits. A decision could come at any time.

New York: on September 30, the 2nd circuit upheld a state law that says no one may circulate a petition to put a candidate on a primary ballot unless the circulator is a registered member of that same party. Maslow v Board of Elections, 08-3075. The restriction is a serious impediment, because New York does not permit voters to switch party membership without a waiting period that can be as long as six months. Plaintiffs, who are Democratic and Republican voters, will ask for U.S. Supreme Court review.

North Carolina: on October 13, the 4th circuit the state’s law on how independent candidates get on the ballot to run for U.S. House. Greene v Board of Elections. A petition of 4% of the number of registered voters is required, in addition to a large filing fee. No independent candidate for U.S. House has ever appeared on a government-printed ballot in North Carolina, and North Carolina has been using government-printed ballots since 1901. The decision says the ballot might be too crowded if the requirement is eased. Plaintiffs will ask for U.S. Supreme Court review. The decision acknowledges that no independent has ever qualified for U.S. House, but says a fair number have qualified for state legislature and local office. Of course, the number of signatures is much less for those offices.

South Carolina: on November 22, the State Supreme Court ruled that the Republican Party need not pay all the expenses of holding its presidential primary. The vote was 3-2. Beaufort County v South Carolina Election Commission, 27069.

North Dakota: on November 23, the 8th circuit refused to rehear Libertarian Party of North Dakota v Jaeger, a case against the law that requires minor parties to attract up to 15% of all primary voters to choose that party’s primary ballot, if that party wants to nominate candidates for the legislature. The case may be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tennessee: on January 17, the 6th circuit will hear Kurita v Tennessee Democratic Party, over whether it was lawful for the Democratic Party in 2008 to have refused to certify the winner of the party’s primary for State Senate on political grounds.

Tennessee (2): on January 9, a U.S. District Court will hear Green Party of Tennessee v Hargett, 3:11-cv-692, over the ballot access law for new and minor parties. It requires 40,042 signatures by April 5. The old law, which was held unconstitutional in 2010, required the same number of signatures, but the petition was due in March.

Virginia: on January 17, a U.S. District Court will hear Lux v Judd, 3:10-cv-482, over the state law that makes it illegal for anyone to circulate a petition for a candidate for U.S. House if that individual doesn’t live in the district.

Federal law: on November 9, the D.C. Circuit heard initiative & Referendum Institute to U.S. Postal Service, 10-5337, over the validity of a postal regulation that outlaws petitioning on post office sidewalks that run between a street and a parking lot, or between a street and the post office itself. It is difficult to predict what the judges will decide.

Federal law (2): on November 9, a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., upheld the action of the Federal Election Commission when it refused to investigate whether the Democratic Party, and its allied corporate law firms, spent several million dollars in 2004 trying to keep Ralph Nader off various state ballots, and then didn’t report the expenses as campaign expenditures. Nader v FEC, cv-10-989.


MAINE VOTERS SAVE ELECTION-DAY REGISTRATION

On November 8, the voters of Maine overwhelmingly voted in favor of keeping election-day voter registration. The 2011 session of the legislature had repealed provisions for voters registering to vote on election day, but supporters of same-day registration then gathered enough signatures to force a referendum, and they won 237,024 to 155,156.


OHIO SECRETARY OF STATE PUTS FIVE PARTIES ON BALLOT

On November 1, the Ohio Secretary of State issued a directive putting the Americans Elect, Constitution, Green, Libertarian, and Socialist Parties on the ballot, without any petition. The basis for the directive is that the existing law is unconstitutional, according to the September 7, 2011 order of the U.S. District Court in the Libertarian Party lawsuit.


DATES OF U.S. HOUSE PRIMARIES

The last B.A.N. carried a chart showing the dates of presidential primaries, 1988-2012. That chart showed that the 2012 presidental primary season is the longest in U.S. history, and also that the 2012 presidential primaries are substantially later than they had been in any year since 1988.

Below is a chart showing the dates of primaries for U.S. House, 1988-2012. Ironically, this chart shows that the congressional primary season is shorter than it has been in many decades. This is because the states that previously had the earliest congressional primaries have made them later, and the states that previously had the latest congressional primaries have made them earlier. For most of the last 100 years, September was the most common month for congressional primaries, but now June and August are the most common months.

State
2012
2008
2004
2000
1996
1992
1988

Alabama

March 13

June 3

June 1

June 6

June 4

June 2

June 7

Alaska

August 28

August 26

August 24

August 22

August 27

Sept. 8

August 23

Arizona

August 28

Sept. 2

Sept. 7

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 8

Sept. 13

Arkansas

May 22

May 20

May 18

May 23

May 21

May 26

March 8

California

June 5

June 3

.March 2

March 7

March 26

June 2

June 7

Colorado

June 26

August 12

August 10

August 8

August 13

August 11

August 9

Connecticut

August 14

August 12

August 10

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 15

no primary

Delaware

Sept. 11

Sept. 9

Sept. 11

Sept. 9

Sept. 7

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Florida

August 14

August 26

August 31

Sept. 5

Sept. 3

Sept. 1

Sept. 6

Georgia

July 31

July 15

July 20

July 18

July 9

July 21

August 9

Hawaii

August 11

Sept. 20

Sept. 18

Sept. 23

Sept. 21

Sept. 19

Sept. 17

Idaho

May 15

May 27

May 25

May 23

May 28

May 26

May 24

Illinois

March 20

February 5

March 16

March 21

March 19

March 17

March 15

Indiana

May 8

May 6

May 4

May 2

May 7

May 5

May 3

Iowa

June 5

June 3

June 8

June 6

June 4

June 2

June 7

Kansas

August 7

August 5

August 3

August 1

August 6

August 4

August 2

Kentucky

May 22

May 20

May 18

May 23

May 28

May 26

May 24

Louisiana

no primary

Oct. 4

no primary

no primary

Sept. 21

Oct. 3

Oct. 1

Maine

June 12

June 10

June 8

June 13

June 11

June 9

June 14

Maryland

April 3

February 12

March 2

March 7

March 5

March 3

March 8

Mass.

Sept. 6

Sept. 16

Sept. 14

Sept. 19

Sept. 17

Sept. 15

Sept. 15

Michigan

August 7

August 5

August 3

August 8

August 6

August 4

August 2

Minnesota

August 14

Sept. 9

Sept. 14

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 15

Sept. 13

Mississippi

March 13

March 11

March 9

March 14

March 12

March 10

March 8

Missouri

August 7

August 5

August 3

August 8

August 6

August 4

August 2

Montana

June 5

June 3

June 8

June 6

June 4

June 2

June 7

Nebraska

May 15

May 13

May 11

May 9

May 14

May 12

May 10

Nevada

June 12

August 12

Sept. 7

Sept. 5

Sept. 3

Sept. 1

Sept. 6

New Hamp.

Sept. 11

Sept. 9

Sept. 14

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 8

Sept. 13

New Jersey

June 5

June 3

June 8

June 6

June 4

June 2

June 7

New Mex.

June 5

June 3

June 1

June 6

June 4

June 2

June 7

New York

August 14

Sept. 9

Sept. 14

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 15

Sept. 15

No. Car.

May 8

May 6

July 20

May 2

May 7

May 5

May 3

No. Dakota

June 12

June 10

June 8

June 13

June 11

June 9

June 14

Ohio

June 12

March 4

March 2

March 7

March 19

June 2

May 3

Oklahoma

June 26

July 29

July 27

August 22

August 27

August 25

August 23

Oregon

May 15

May 20

May 18

May 16

May 21

May 19

May 17

Pennsyl.

April 24

April 22

April 27

April 4

April 23

April 28

April 26

Rhode Is.

Sept. 11

Sept. 9

Sept. 14

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 15

Sept. 14

So. Caro.

June 12

June 10

June 8

June 13

June 11

August 25

June 14

So. Dakota

June 5

June 3

June 1

June 6

June 4

June 2

June 7

Tennessee

August 2

August 7

August 5

August 3

August 1

August 6

August 4

Texas

March 6

March 4

March 9

March 14

March 12

March 10

March 8

Utah

June 26

June 24

June 22

June 27

June 25

Sept. 8

Sept. 13

Vermont

August 28

Sept. 9

Sept. 14

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 8

Sept. 13

Virginia

June 12

June 10

June 8

June 13

June 11

June 9

June 14

Washington

August 7

August 19

Sept. 14

Sept. 19

Sept. 17

Sept. 15

Sept. 20

West Va.

May 8

May 13

May 11

May 9

May 14

May 12

May 10

Wisconsin

August 14

Sept. 9

Sept. 14

Sept. 12

Sept. 10

Sept. 8

Sept. 13

Wyoming

August 21

August 19

August 17

August 22

August 20

August 18

August 16

MEDIAN

June 12

June 17

June 22

June 13

June 18

July 28

June 14

RANGE

189 days

242 days

200 days

200 days

200 days

214 days

207 days


2012 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT

STATE
REQUIREMENTS
SIGNATURES COLLECTED
DEADLINES
FULL PARTY
CAND
LIB’T
GREEN
CONSTI
AM. ELE
Party
Indp.

Ala.

44,829

5,000

0

0

0

*62,200

Mar. 13

Sep. 6

Alaska

(reg) 7,406

#3,271

already on

*2,141

*24

already on

June 1

Aug. 8

Ariz.

23,041

(est) #27,000

already on

already on

0

already on

Mar. 1

Sep. 7

Ark.

10,000

#1,000

already on

*5,500

0

*already on

*April 7

Aug. 1

Calif.

1,030,040

172,859

already on

already on

negotiation

finished

Jan. 2

Aug. 10

Colo.

(reg) 1,000

#pay $500

already on

already on

already on

*already on

Jan. 8

June 4

Conn.

no procedure

#7,500

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

Aug. 8

Del.

(est.) (reg) 650

(est.) 6,500

already on

*528

finished

0

Aug. 21

July 15

D.C.

no procedure

(est.) #3,900

can’t start

already on

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

Aug. 21

Florida

0

112,174

already on

already on

already on

already on

*Sep. 1

July 15

Georgia

*50,334

#*51,845

already on

0

0

*51,300

Aug. 6

Aug. 6

Hawaii

691

#4,536

already on

500

0

*already on

Feb. 22

Sep. 7

Idaho

13,102

1,000

already on

0

already on

0

Aug. 30

Aug. 24

Illinois

no procedure

#25,000

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

June 25

Indiana

no procedure

#34,195

already on

0

0

0

– – –

June 30

Iowa

no procedure

#1,500

0

0

0

0

– – –

Aug. 17

Kansas

16,776

5,000

already on

0

0

already on

June 1

Aug. 6

Ky.

no procedure

#5,000

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

Sep. 7

La.

(reg) 1,000

#pay $500

already on

already on

0

0

May 17

Sep. 4

Maine

28,639

#4,000

0

already on

0

*finished

Dec 8, 11

Aug. 8

Md.

10,000

(est.) 35,000

already on

already on

*350

*1,150

Aug. 6

Aug. 6

Mass.

(est) (reg) 40,000

#10,000

15,857

already on

0

0

Nov. 1, 11

July 31

Mich.

32,261

30,000

already on

already on

already on

already on

July 19

July 19

Minn.

105,352

#2,000

0

0

0

0

May 1

Aug. 21

Miss.

be organized

1,000

already on

already on

already on

0

Jan. 6

Sep. 7

Mo.

10,000

10,000

already on

0

already on

finished

July 30

July 30

Mont.

5,000

#5,000

already on

0

200

*4,000

Mar. 15

Aug. 15

Nebr.

4,880

2,500

already on

0

0

*3,100

Aug. 1

Sep. 1

Nev.

7,013

7,013

already on

0

already on

already on

April 13

July 6

N. Hamp.

13,698

#3,000

*13,500

0

0

0

Aug. 8

Aug. 8

N.J.

no procedure

#800

0

0

0

0

– – –

July 30

N. M.

3,009

18,053

already on

700

0

0

Apr. 2

June 27

N.Y.

no procedure

#15,000

can’t start

already on

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

Aug. 21

No. Car.

85,379

85,379

already on

500

3,000

*30,800

May 16

June 14

No. Dak.

7,000

#4,000

*200

0

0

0

Apr. 13

Sep. 7

Ohio

*show support

5,000

already on

already on

already on

already on

unsettled

Aug. 8

Okla.

51,739

43,890

*32,000

0

0

*15,200

March 1

July 15

Oregon

21,804

18,279

already on

*9,000

already on

*25,500

Aug. 28

Aug. 28

Penn.

no procedure

(es) #22,000

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

Aug. 1

R.I.

17,115

#1,000

0

0

0

*finished

June 1

Sep. 7

So. Car.

10,000

10,000

already on

already on

already on

*12,500

May 6

July 15

So. Dak.

7,928

3,171

*finished

0

0

0

Mar. 27

Aug. 7

Tenn.

40,042

275

0

*in court

*in court

*28,200

April 5

Aug. 16

Texas

49,729

80,778

already on

already on

can’t start

can’t start

May 20

May 14

Utah

2,000

#1,000

already on

0

already on

*already on

Feb. 15

Aug. 15

Vermont

be organized

#1,000

already on

organizing

0

organizing

Jan. 1

Jun 14

Virginia

no procedure

#10,000

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

Aug. 24

Wash.

no procedure

#1,000

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

can’t start

– – –

Aug. 28

West Va.

no procedure

#7,135

0

already on

0

0

– – –

Aug. 1

Wisc.

10,000

#2,000

can’t start

can’t start

already on

can’t start

*May 1

*Aug. 7

Wyo.

3,740

3,740

already on

0

*4,400

*5,050

June 1

Aug. 28

TOTAL STATES ON
29
16
12
11*
`

#partisan label permitted (other than "independent").
"AMER ELE" = Americans Elect Party.
*change since Nov. 1 issue.


FOUR INDEPENDENTS ELECTED TO STATE LEGISLATURES

During late October, or November, independent candidates were elected to the State House in three states.

Louisiana held its first round of state legislative elections on October 22, with run-offs on November 19 in districts in which no one had received 50% in October. Two independents were elected: (1) Jerome "Dee" Richard was re-elected in the 55th district on October 22, defeating his only opponent, a Republican; (2) Terry Brown was elected in the November 19 run-off, defeating an incumbent Republican in the 22nd district.

Missouri held a special election for State House, 83rd district, on November 8. Tracy McCreery, the independent candidate, won the election, defeating a Republican and a Democrat. He is the first non-major party nominee elected to state office in Missouri since 1998, when another independent was elected to the legislature. McCreery has joined the Democratic caucus.

Virginia held legislative elections on November 8. Long-time independent Delegate Lacey Putney was re-elected, defeating both his major party opponents. He has been elected and re-elected as an independent every two years starting in 1971. He is age 83.


MINOR PARTIES IN 2011 ELECTIONS

Below are the vote totals for the only minor parties that ran any nominees in the regularly-scheduled legislative elections of November 8:

2011 STATE SENATE ELECTIONS

PARTY

Mississippi

New Jersey

Virginia

Constitution

660

554

~

Indp. Green

~ ~

591

Reform

2,616

~ ~

2011 STATE HOUSE ELECTIONS

PARTY

Mississippi

New Jersey

Virginia

Constitution

~

3,983

~

Green

~

2,224

~

Indp. Green

~ ~

3,555

Libertarian

3,606

3,525

11,497

Reform

896

~ ~

In addition to the regularly-scheduled elections included above, Massachusetts held a special election for State House, 3rd Berkshire district, on October 18. The Green, Mark Miller, almost won. The vote: Democratic 1,940; Green 1,748; independent 1,325; Republican 899.


MINOR PARTY PARTISAN WINS

On November 8, these parties won partisan elections:

Conservative Party: in New York, elected Paul Shepherd to the Shelter Island Town Council. Two were to be elected, and he placed second, ahead of one of the Republicans and both Democrats.

Green Party: elected Leif Smith Constable of Redding, Connecticut. Six were to be elected and he placed sixth. Also, Howie Hawkins was almost elected to the Syracuse, N.Y. city council, polling 48.2% against a Democrat.

Libertarian Party: won three partisan elections in Indiana and one in Pennsylvania. The Indiana winners are Dennis Denney for Henry Town Council (he won by one vote); Miccah Shepherd for Clerk-Treasurer of Claypool; and Susan Bell for Town Judge of Hagerstown. The Pennsylvania winner is Erik Viker, Selinsgrove Borough Council.

Working Families Party: elected three nominees to the Hartford, Connecticut city council. They are Luis Cotto, Larry Deutsch, and Cynthia Jennings.


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