August 1, 2008 – Volume 24, Number 4

This issue was originally printed on blue paper.

Table of Contents

  1. 9th CIRCUIT STRIKES DOWN ARIZONA PETITION DEADLINE AND ALSO LEGALIZES OUT-OF-STATE CIRCULATORS
  2. OHIO VICTORY
  3. PENNSYLVANIA BALLOT ACCESS BOOSTED BY SCANDAL
  4. NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE PLAN BILLS
  5. CONGRESSIONAL BILLS
  6. LWV TO STUDY NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE PLAN
  7. CALIFORNIA TAKES SIDES IN AIP INTRA-PARTY DISPUTE
  8. LAWSUIT NEWS
  9. GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION VOTE
  10. 2008 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT
  11. PARTIES NOT ON PETITIONING CHART
  12. OBAMA ANDWORKING FAMILIES PARTY
  13. ARKANSAS GREEN MAY BE ONLY NAME ON BALLOT FOR LEGISLATIVE RACE
  14. REFORM PARTY NATIONAL CONVENTION
  15. POLLINA TO RUN AS AN INDEPENDENT
  16. SUBSCRIBING TO BAN WITH PAYPAL


9th CIRCUIT STRIKES DOWN ARIZONA PETITION DEADLINE AND ALSO LEGALIZES OUT-OF-STATE CIRCULATORS

On July 9, the 9th Circuit struck down two Arizona election laws: (1) the law making it illegal for out-of-state circulators to work; and (2) Arizona’s early June petition deadline for independent presidential candidates. Nader v Brewer, 06-16251.

Only a few hours after the decision came out, Arizona’s Secretary of State, Jan Brewer, said that she would appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. She seemed far more upset by the part of the decision about the deadline, than about the part of the decision on out-of-state circulators. On July 22, the state asked for a rehearing before all the active judges of the 9th circuit. The petition for rehearing has eleven pages about the deadline, but only three pages about the out-of-state circulator issue.

Arizona does not hold its primary (for office other than president) until September, so obviously it can’t print its November ballots until three months after the independent petition deadline. The state had argued that, nevertheless, it is easier to plan for the ballot-printing if the state knows very early how many independent candidates will be on the ballot.

The problem with that argument is that the State Constitution says initiative petitions are not due until four months before the general election, i.e., early July. Arizona had 19 statewide initiatives on the November 2006 ballot. The amount of space an initiative requires on the ballot is difficult to predict. Some initiatives can be explained on the ballot in just a few lines, but others require as many as nine lines. Therefore, the state’s argument that it has a good reason to require independent candidate petitions, a full month before initiative petitions are due, is not persuasive. The state’s request for a rehearing does not mention the Initiative deadline.

Jan Brewer seems to have a callous disregard for voters who wish to vote for independent candidates. In 2005, she sponsored a bill, which was signed into law, making it legally impossible for an independent candidate to file to have his or her write-ins counted, if that independent had tried and failed to get on the ballot.

In 2006, Senator Karen Johnson, who is sympathetic to independent voters and candidates, sponsored a bill which would have relaxed the independent petition deadline, moving it to July 15. However, that bill failed to pass. Ironically, if it had passed, that could have derailed the opinion that was just won.

Traditionally, minor party and independent presidential candidates have entered the race in the middle of presidential election years. In 1924, U.S. Senator Robert La Follette did not declare his independent candidacy for president until July 4. He only entered the race when he determined that William G. McAdoo could not win the Democratic nomination. Theodore Roosevelt didn’t know he would be running for president as the nominee of a new party, in 1912, until after the Republican convention in June of that year. Neither did Strom Thurmond know he would be running for president in 1948, until after the Democratic convention in mid-July.

Arizona’s independent petition deadline had been in either October, or September, in all the years before 1993. In 1993 the legislature moved it to late June, and then moved it to mid-June, and then moved it again to early June.

The deadline portion of the decision is especially poignant for Arizona Libertarians who supported Harry Browne for president in 2000. The deadline kept Browne off the ballot, spoiling his 50-state ballot access.

In 2000, the Arizona Libertarian Party state officers had been angry with the national Libertarian Party, and so had refused to list Browne as the Libertarian presidential nominee. Browne then circulated an independent candidate petition, but it was submitted after the June deadline. Browne sued to overturn the deadline. He lost in lower state court. He won (after the election) in the State Court of Appeals, but then lost in the State Supreme Court. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal.

The part of the decision that strikes down the ban on out-of-state circulators (assuming it is not overturned by the full 9th circuit, or by the U.S. Supreme Court) will be immensely helpful to minor party and independent candidates. The costs of getting on the ballot are far higher when minor parties, and supporters of independent candidates, cannot cross state lines to do petition circulation.


OHIO VICTORY

On July 17, U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus issued an injunction, putting the Libertarian Party on the ballot. Libertarian Party of Ohio v Brunner, 2:08cv-555. The state is not appealing. This is the first time any party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, will have been on the ballot in Ohio since 2000.

The basis for the decision is that the 6th circuit had struck down the old law in 2006, and the legislature had never passed a new one. Even odder, no legislator had even introduced a bill to create a new requirement. In 2007 the Secretary of State had ruled that any group that submitted 20,114 signatures by late November would be recognized, but the recent opinion said only state legislatures can write ballot access rules.


PENNSYLVANIA BALLOT ACCESS BOOSTED BY SCANDAL

On July 10, Pennsylvania Attorney General Thomas Corbett announced that Grand Juries in Pittsburgh and Harrisburg had been investigating rumors that many of the 458 employees of the Pennsylvania House Democratic Caucus had done partisan political work on government time. Furthermore, those who had done the most partisan political work had been given bonuses from state government funds.

The Presentments of these two juries made the front pages, because among the other partisan political work that had been done, dozens of these state employees had worked full-time on both the Nader petition challenge in 2004, and the Green Party petition challenge in 2006. The story continues to occupy newspapers in Pennsylvania. For example, on July 29 the Harrisburg Patriot-News editorialized that Ralph Nader should not be required to pay the $81,102 that the courts had ruled should be paid to the people who challenged his petitions.

The biggest payoff, however, was on July 25, when Senator Mike Folmer introduced the model bill that had been written three years ago by the Pennsylvania Ballot Access Coalition. Based on the Delaware law, it says a qualified minor party is one that has registration membership of one-twentieth of 1% of the state total. Qualified minor parties would nomiante by convention and be freed of any petitioning. Independent candiates for statewide office would need 2,000 signatures, with lesser amounts for district independent candidates.

Senator Folmer is a Republican, and the State Senate has a Republican majority, so there is some hope that his bill (which still doesn’t have a bill number) can get a hearing.

On July 15, the Green Party candidate for U.S. Senate from 2006, Carl Romanelli, asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reopen its earlier determination that he should pay $80,407 to the people who had challenged his petition.

Ralph Nader is about to file a similar request with that same court, asking for a reopening of that court’s ruling that Nader must pay $81,102 to the people who challenged his 2004 petition.

Some of the justification for the original determinations that the candidates should pay the costs of the challenges, was a belief that Nader (in 2004) and Romanelli (in 2006) had not been dililgent about having volunteers present in court, in cities all across Pennsylvania, to participate in the challenge process. The volunteers for Nader and Romanelli, of course, were not being paid. Now that it is known that the taxpayers were paying for the labor of the challengers, the case for a re-opening is strong.

The Presentment of the juries includes these details about the Nader 2004 challenge: "A total of $188,800 in taxpayer funded bonuses was issued to (Commonwealth employees) as a reward for the conduct of political endeavors and campaign work. Such campaign work included the challenge of Nader’s petitions…The employees would conduct reviews during regular working hours at their Caucus workplaces, utilizing their Caucus computers to research information whose names appeared as signators on the petitions, through the Constituent Tracking Service, a program which was designed and intended for legitimate legislative use, and which included voter registration information. The Caucus computers were further utilized to compile and transmit the information which would be used to challenge the signatures or petition pages…The two most outstanding examples of misappropriation of taxpayer resources in petition challenges were in the challenges to Ralph Nader in 2004 and Carl Romanelli in 2006…As many as fifty Caucus staff members participated in the challenge effort…Many of the Caucus employees spent an entire week on it…Three employees even drove boxes of materials necessary for the challenge filing to Harrisburg, where they were delivered to the challenge attorney."


NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE PLAN BILLS

The Massachusetts Senate is likely to pass the National Popular Vote Plan on July 30 (HB 678), and Governor Patrick Deval is expected to sign it. The California Assembly passed the same bill on June 30 (SB 37). It returns to the Senate this month, but then will face a tough challenge to obtain a signature from Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; he had vetoed the same bill in 2006. The Rhode Island bill, S 2112, was vetoed by Governor Donald Carcieri, a Republican, on July 3.

Although the proponents of the National Vote Plan have tried very hard to woo Republican support, and although some Republican state legislators have supported the bills, no Republican Governor has yet signed one of the bills.


CONGRESSIONAL BILLS

Audit Trail: on July 1, U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Robert Bennett introduced S. 3212, to mandate an audit trail for vote-counting machines in federal elections.

Weekend Voting: on July 17, Congressman Steve Israel (D-NY) introduced HR 6240, to change federal election day from the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, to the first complete weekend in November.

Veterans Hospitals: on July 22, nine U.S. Senators introduced S. 3308, to compel the Veterans Administration to give access to VA facilities, for people who want to visit in order to register voters. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid almost never co-sponsors bills, but he is co-sponsoring this bill, along with Senators Dianne Feinstein, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Patrick Leahy, Patty Murray, Barack Obama, Charles Schumer, and Ron Wyden.


LWV TO STUDY NATIONAL POPULAR VOTE PLAN

On June 27, the national League of Women Voters voted to study the National Popular Vote Plan.


CALIFORNIA TAKES SIDES IN AIP INTRA-PARTY DISPUTE

On July 21, the California Secretary of State recognized the July 5 meeting of the American Independent Party, instead of the June 28 meeting. The July 5 meeting had been called by supporters of Alan Keyes for president; the June 28 meeting had been called by supporters of Chuck Baldwin for president.

The Secretary of State’s decision was surprising, since the June 28 meeting had many more members of the State Central Committee in attendance than the July 5 meeting. The June 28 meeting had 55 people in attendance, including 35 members of the State Central Committee. The July 5 meeting only had 19 people in attendance, and only 7 members of the State Central Committee. Furthermore, not everyone at the July 5 meeting voted for the Keyes electors.

The Secretary of State’s office said it had no knowledge of how many State Central Committee members were at either meeting. The Secretary of State said that since Ed Noonan had called the July 5 meeting, and since he was listed in the records as the outgoing state chair, she automatically recognized the July 5 meeting.

Ed Noonan, outgoing state chair, had initially called a state central committee meeting for early June, but then he had cancelled that meeting. The other state party officers, fearing that Noonan would not call any meeting (which would have left the party with no candidates for presidential elector), then called the June 28 meeting. Party bylaws give the other officers the authority to call such a meeting, when the Chair refuses to do so. The Secretary of State’s response to this point was that, "We can’t look into party bylaws."

After the other officers had called the June 28 meeting, Noonan then called the July 5 meeting. Noonan argues that the election code requires parties to hold their state conventions in Sacramento, but that law had been held unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1989.

The legislature had removed most references to the need to meet in Sacramento, but accidentally missed on election code reference. Noonan’s meeting was in Sacramento; the other was in Los Angeles.

The July 5 meeting voted that the American Independent Party will henceforth be the California affiliate of America’s Independent Party, which was founded by Alan Keyes. That party is not ballot-qualified in any state outside California, and so far, the label "America’s Independent Party" isn’t set to appear on any state’s ballot. Keyes is on the ballot in Colorado, but with the label "Unaffiliated".

It is expected that the Baldwin faction of the California American Independent Party will file a lawsuit in state court on August 4, in state court, to reverse the Secretary of State’s ruling.


LAWSUIT NEWS

Alabama: it is very likely that Andy Shugart will sue in federal court on August 1, to overturn a state law that requires more signatures for an independent candidate for U.S. House, than are required for an independent presidential candidate.

Alaska: the 9th circuit will hear Alaskan Independence Party v State on August 8. The issue is whether the Constitution protects the right of a party to exclude disloyal members from running in its primary for public office.

Arizona: on July 7, the State Supreme Court placed a candidate on the primary ballot, even though he only has enough valid signatures if post office box addresses are considered suitable to be placed on ballot access petitions. The Court said it will explain its reasoning later. Jenkins v Hale, 08-0208.

Florida: State Senator Steven Geller is dropping his lawsuit, Geller v Democratic National Committee, because he has been assured that the Democratic National Convention will seat the full Florida delegation. The case has been pending in U.S. District Court in Miami, 08-cv-60774.

Illinois: on July 28, an independent candidate for U.S. House filed a federal lawsuit, arguing that since the state only requires 5,000 signatures in years after redistricting (1982, 1992, 2002, etc.), there is no sound reason to require double that in other election years. The plaintiff, Allan Stevo, had submitted 7,200 signatures to get on the ballot for the 10th district, which would probably have been enough in 2012. However, this year he needs 10,111. Stevo v Keith, 08-3162, Springfield.

Louisiana: Jimmy Fahrenholtz, a member of the New Orleans School Board, is fighting for a place on the Democratic primary ballot for U.S. House, 2nd district. He was removed from the ballot by a lower court, because the lower court found that he had made a false statement on his declaration of candidacy about whether he owed any fines to the state campaign finance office. The State Court of Appeals tied 4-4 on whether candidates for Congress can be kept off the ballot for violating a provision of state campaign laws. Fahrenholtz is hoping the State Supreme Court will hear his appeal. Williams v Fahrenholtz, 2008-c-1680.

Maine: on July 28, the State Supreme Court ruled that if the evidence shows that a circulator didn’t watch one particular signer sign his or her petition, then all the signatures circulated by that petitioner must be discarded. The result is that the only non-major party candidate for U.S. Senate, independent Herb Hoffman, only had 3,929 useable signatures, even though all sides agree that he over 4,000 registered voters signed his petition. Knutson v Dept. of the Secretary of State, 08-375. Hoffman may sue in federal court.

Ohio: on July 22, Brian Moore (who was already suing the state over whether out-of-staters may circulate independent candidate petitions) amended his complaint, to also ask that the Socialist Party be placed on the November ballot for president because it enjoys a modicum of support, under the recent Libertarian decision.


GREEN PARTY PRESIDENTIAL CONVENTION VOTE

STATE

McKinney

Nader

Swift

Mesplay

Johnson

E.Brown

Ball

Hawkins

Uncomm.

Arizona

6

`
`

1

1

`
`
`
`

Arkansas

4

`

1

1

`
`

1

`

1

California

23

52

3

2

1

4

1

Colorado

3

`

2

2

`

5

`
`
`

Conn.

10

1

`
`
`
`
`
`
`

Delaware

6

`
`
`
`
`
`
`

Dt. Col.

13

1

1

`
`
`

1

`
`

Florida

11

2

2

1

`
`
`
`
`

Georgia

7

`

1

`
`
`
`
`
`

Hawaii

4

4

`
`
`
`
`
`
`

Illinois

25

`
`

6

`
`

5

8

`

Indiana

6.5

`
`

1.5

`
`
`
`
`

Iowa

3

`

2

1

1

`
`
`

1

Louisiana

5

1

`
`
`
`
`
`
`

Maine

15

`

1

.5

1.5

`
`
`
`

Maryland

6

`

3

3

4

`
`
`
`

Mass.

13

3

1

3

1

`
`
`
`

Michigan

17

4

1

1

1

`
`
`
`

Minn.

11

`
`
`
`
`
`
`

1

Miss.

4

`

2

2

`
`
`
`
`

Missouri

5

`

1

`

2

`
`
`
`

Montana

1

`
`

1

`
`
`
`
`

Nebraska

8

`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

N.Jersey

6

1

`

1

1

`
`
`

1

N.York

28.5

2.5

`

2

3

`
`
`
`

No. Car.

5

`
`

1

2

`
`
`
`

Ohio

3

1

`
`

1

`
`
`

1

Oregon

9

`
`
`

1

`
`
`
`

Pennsy.

10

2

.5

1

2

`
`
`

2.5

Rhode Is.

5

`
`
`

1

`
`
`
`

So. Car.

1

`

1

`
`
`
`
`
`

Tenn.

5

`

1

1

1

`
`
`
`

Texas

1

`

10

`

1

`
`
`
`

Utah

2

`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

Virginia

2

3

1

`

1

`
`
`

1

Wash.

10

`

1

1

`
`
`
`
`

W. Va.

2

`
`
`

6

`
`
`
`

Wisconsin

19

1

1

2

`
`
`
`

1

Black Cau

2

`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

Gay Cau.

4

`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`

Women

2

`

2

`
`
`
`
`
`

TOTAL

323

78.5

38.5

35

32.5

9

8

8

9.5

Candidates seeking the 2008 Green Party presidential nomination were Cynthia McKinney, Kat Swift, Kent Mesplay, and Jesse Johnson. Elaine Browne, Howie Hawkins, Jared Ball, and Ralph Nader were not seeking the nomination, but they still received votes at the convention because their names had appeared on some Green Party presidential primary ballots. For vice-president, Rosa Clemente of New York city was nominated by acclamation. The McKinney-Clemente ticket is the first ticket composed of two Black women in U.S. history.

These 13 states did not send any delegates to the convention: Alabama, Alaska, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming. By contrast, in 2004, seven states had no delegates: Alaska, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota, West Virginia, and Wyoming.


2008 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT

(to see the latest ballot status information, click here for the online chart)

STATE
REQUIREMENTS
SIGNATURES COLLECTED
DEADLINES
FULL PARTY
CAND
LIB'T
GREEN
CONSTI
NADER
Party
Indp.

Alabama

37,513

5,000

*1,200

0

*500

*6,000

June 3

Sep. 8

Alaska

(reg) 7,124

#3,128

already on

0

already on

3,000

Aug. 6

Aug. 6

Ariz.

20,449

#21,759

already on

already on

*0

already on

Mar. 6

*unsettled

Arkansas

10,000

#1,000

already on

already on

already on

*finished

June 30

Aug. 4

Calif.

(reg) 88,991

158,372

already on

already on

*disputed

seek nom

Dec. 31, 07

Aug. 8

Colorado

(reg) 1,000

pay $500

already on

already on

already on

already on

June 1

June 17

Conn.

no procedure

#7,500

*1,000

*3,600

250

*9,000

- - -

Aug. 6

Delaware

(reg) 284

5,674

already on

already on

already on

seek nom

Aug. 12

July 15

D.C.

no procedure

*3,883

*150

already on

*0

*150

- - -

Aug. 19

Florida

be organized

104,334

already on

already on

already on

seek nom

Sep. 2

July 15

Georgia

44,089

#42,489

already on

*too late

0

0

July 8

July 8

Hawaii

663

4,291

already on

already on

already on

already on

Apr. 3

Sep. 5

Idaho

11,968

5,984

already on

0

already on

*1,000

Aug. 29

Aug. 25

Illinois

no procedure

#25,000

*already on

already on

*already on

*already on

- - -

June 23

Indiana

no procedure

#32,742

already on

too late

too late

too late

- - -

June 30

Iowa

no procedure

#1,500

*730

*1,700

*750

*500

- - -

Aug. 15

Kansas

16,994

5,000

already on

0

*already on

*5,000

June 2

Aug. 4

Kentucky

no procedure

#5,000

*7,500

0

*2,000

1,200

- - -

Sep. 2

La.

(reg) 1,000

pay $500

already on

already on

47

0

May 22

Sep. 2

Maine

27,544

#4,000

*1,500

already on

*300

*3,000

Dec 14, 07

*Ag 8

Maryland

10,000

est. 32,500

already on

already on

*5,000

*14,000

Aug. 4

Aug. 4

Mass.

est. (reg) 40,500

#10,000

*finished

already on

*finished

*finished

Feb. 1

July 29

Michigan

38,024

38,024

already on

already on

already on

seek nom

July 17

July 17

Minnesota

110,150

#2,000

0

*400

*500

*800

July 15

Sep. 9

Mississippi

be organized

1,000

already on

already on

already on

0

Jan. 10

Sep. 5

Missouri

10,000

10,000

already on

0

*already on

*finished

July 28

July 28

Montana

5,000

#5,000

already on

0

already on

*finished

Mar. 13

*Aug 13

Nebraska

5,921

2,500

*already on

already on

already on

*3,000

Aug. 1

Aug. 26

Nevada

5,746

5,746

already on

already on

already on

*already on

July 3

July 3

N. Hamp.

12,524

#3,000

*5,300

0

*25

*4,000

Aug. 6

Aug. 6

New Jersey

no procedure

#800

*already on

*already on

*already on

*already on

- - -

July 28

New Mex.

2,794

16,764

already on

already on

already on

already on

Apr. 1

June 4

New York

no procedure

#15,000

*2,000

*3,000

*200

*5,000

- - -

Aug. 19

No. Car.

69,734

69,734

already on

in court

too late

too late

May 16

June 12

No. Dakota

7,000

#4,000

already on

*500

already on

1,000

Apr. 11

Sep. 5

Ohio

*have support

5,000

*already on

*1,000

finished

*6,000

Aug 21

Aug. 21

Oklahoma

46,324

43,913

*in court

0

0

0

May 1

July 15

Oregon

20,640

18,356

already on

already on

already on

seek nom

Aug. 26

Aug. 26

Penn.

no procedure

#24,666

finished

*finished

*finished

*finished

- - -

Aug. 1

Rhode Isl.

18,557

#1,000

0

*1,300

*500

*finished

May 30

Sep. 5

So. Caro.

10,000

10,000

already on

already on

already on

*finished

May 4

July 15

So. Dakota

8,389

3,356

*3,500

0

already on

*4,000

Mar. 25

Aug. 5

Tennessee

45,254

25

*300

*75

*100

*finished

unsettled

Aug. 21

Texas

43,991

74,108

already on

too late

too late

too late

May 26

May 12

Utah

2,000

#1,000

already on

*100

already on

*already on

Feb. 15

Sep. 2

Vermont

be organized

#1,000

already on

0

already on

*1,000

Jan. 1

Sep. 12

Virginia

no procedure

#10,000

*12,000

*8,000

*10,000

*3,000

- - -

Aug. 22

Wash.

no procedure

#1,000

*finished

*finished

*finished

*already on

- - -

July 26

West Va.

no procedure

#15,118

*finished

already on

*15,000

*finished

- - -

Aug. 1

Wisconsin

10,000

#2,000

already on

already on

0

0

June 2

Sep. 2

Wyoming

3,868

3,868

already on

*1,500

*5,700

*5,000

June 2

Aug. 25

TOTAL STATES ON
*31
22
*20
*4
~ ~

#partisan label is OK (other than "independent").
*change since July 1 B.A.N.
"Nader" column is independent petitions, except in Hi., Md., and N.M., it is the Independent Party.
"Seek nom" means he seeks the nomination of a ballot-qualified party.

(to see the latest ballot status information, click here for the online chart)


PARTIES NOT ON PETITIONING CHART

Socialist Workers: likely to be on in Colorado, Delaware, D.C., Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Minn., Miss., New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.

Socialist: likely on in Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin, and possibly California and Ohio.

Party for Socialism and Liberation: Ark., Colo., Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Wash., and Wis., and possibly California.

Prohibition Party: Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

America’s Independent Party has Alan Keyes on the ballot in Colorado and California, although California could be upset by a lawsuit.

State units of the Reform Party that support Ted Weill for president are on the ballot in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The Boston Tea Party’s presidential candidate is on the ballot in Colorado, and that party is qualified in Florida.

Ralph Nader’s Independent/Ecology Party is on in Florida, Hawaii, and New Mexico (these are included on page five).

As far as is known, this list, plus the parties in the petitioning chart on page five, plus the Democratic and Republican Parties, comprise a complete list of all parties that are on the ballot in at least two states for president, so far.


OBAMA AND WORKING FAMILIES PARTY

The Working Families Party would like to nominate Barack Obama as its presidential candidate, so that he could be listed both as a Democrat, and as the WFP nominee, in Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, and South Carolina. Those are all states in which fusion is legal for president and in which the WFP is on the ballot, or could still get on the ballot. Obama is accepting the party’s nomination in New York, but has not signed any paperwork to be cross-endorsed in any other state.


ARKANSAS GREEN MAY BE ONLY NAME ON BALLOT FOR LEGISLATIVE RACE

It is likely, but not certain, that Richard Carroll will be the only name on the ballot in November, for Arkansas State House, district 39. The only Democrat who ran in the Democratic primary has been barred by a brand-new Democratic Party rule that says the party will not certify any nominee who plea-bargained down from a felony charge. The Democrat, former Representative Dwayne Dobbins, had resigned from the legislature as part of a plea bargain. He had been charged with fondling a 17-year-old girl. Yet he won the May 2008 Democratic primary because no one else ran against him. He filed at the last minute and his wife, who had been expected to file, did not do so.

It is possible that Dobbins will sue to regain his spot on the ballot. But if he does, he faces another hurdle. The legislature reconvenes on August 4, and is expected to pass a rule saying no one may be a member of the legislature who resigned earlier from the legislature as part of a plea bargain. Therefore, he may not bother suing to get on the ballot. The Democratic Party organization is backing Clinton Hampton, a write-in candidate, in the November election, so Carroll’s path to victory is still very uncertain.


REFORM PARTY NATIONAL CONVENTION

The Reform Party held a national convention in Dallas on July 18-20. It nominated Ted Weill of Mississippi for president, and Frank McEnulty of California for vice-president. The Florida unit of the party was opposed to nominating any presidential ticket, and says it will not place the Weill-McEnulty ticket on the Florida ballot. The Kansas Reform Party had already nominated Chuck Baldwin (the Constitution Party nominee) for president, so Weill may be on only in Louisiana and Missisisppi.


POLLINA TO RUN AS AN INDEPENDENT

Anthony Pollina said on July 21 that he will run for Vermont Governor as an independent, not as a Progressive.


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