Ballot Access News -- July 1, 2004

LOUISIANA PASSES BILL TO EASE DEFINITION OF "PARTY"

BIGGEST LEGISLATIVE GAIN IN ANY STATE IN FIVE YEARS

On June 21, the Louisiana legislature passed HB 1605, which greatly liberalizes the definition of "political party". The bill defines "party" to be a group that has registration membership of 1,000, or which polled 5% of the vote in the last presidential election for president, or which polled 5% for any statewide race in the last election for statewide state office.

The old law says a qualified party is one with registration of 5% of the state total, or one that polled 5% for president in the last election. Under the old law, only the Democratic and Republican Parties are qualified. The 5% registration standard requires about 140,000 registrations.

Assuming Governor Kathleen Blanco signs the bill, it will go into effect January 1, 2005. The Green, Libertarian and Reform Parties are sure to qualify under the registration option. New parties must pay a $1,000 fee.

Only parties with registration of 5% will elect party officers in a primary; small qualified parties will choose them by convention. All parties will qualify for a presidential primary.

Candidate ballot access is easy in Louisiana. A fairly modest fee puts anyone on the ballot. However, under existing law, unless the candidate is a member of a qualified party, or unless the candidate is running for president, he or she gets no party label on the ballot. Therefore, parties are handicapped when they aren’t recognized, since their candidates (except for president) have no label.

The only qualified parties in the last eighty-five years in Louisiana have been: (1) States Rights Party, 1956-1960; (2) American Party, 1968-1972; (3) Prudence, Actions, Results 1992-1996; and (4) Reform 1996-2000. The "Prudence, Action, Results" Party was created in 1992 because Ross Perot used that label and he polled over 5% for president.

Under HB 1605, independent candidates will have "no-party candidate" printed on the ballot next to their names. The Coalition for Free & Open Elections (COFOE) had sponsored a lawsuit to overturn the old law, at least relative to independent candidates. The case, Rosenthal v McKeithen, has been pending since 2000 and still hadn’t had a hearing, but the lawsuit will now be moot, assuming the Governor signs the bill.

Except for Michigan in 2002, Louisiana is the only state to have voluntarily eased the definition of "party" since 1999. The years 2000-2004 have been bleak for legislative help for minor parties. There have been improvements since 2000, but they have mostly come about by lawsuits, not improvements by state legislators.

ALABAMA INNOVATION

On June 7, the Alabama Secretary of State and the Alabama Attorney General agreed to let three different independent presidential candidates use the same petition. With a single signature, a voter can help Ralph Nader, Michael Badnarik, and David Cobb get on the ballot as independent presidential candidates this year. 5,000 signatures are required for any independent presidential candidate to get on the Alabama ballot.

Since the law lets voters sign for multiple independent presidential candidates, no one in Alabama state government could find any reason to disallow the use of a single petition to qualify all three candidates. As most readers already know, Nader is a true independent candidate; Badnarik is the Libertarian nominee; Cobb may be the Green nominee. Supporters of all three candidates are cooperating to circulate this petition. The petition makes it clear to potential signers that, by their signature, they are assisting three different candidates.

FOUR CALIFORNIA BILLS ADVANCE

Party rights: on June 21, the Senate passed SCA 18, which says that if a political party participates in a primary election, it has a right to have its nominee on the general election ballot. Since it is a constitutional amendment, the voters will vote on it in November (assuming it passes the Assembly soon). If it gets more votes than the "Voter Choice Open Primary", and they both pass, the measure with the higher vote totals wins. See the April 1 B.A.N. for a description of the "Voter Choice" initiative.

Primary date: on June 15, the Assembly Elections Committee passed SB 1730. The bill moves all primaries, even the presidential primary, from March to June. If the bill passes, the deadline to qualify a new party will automatically be eased by three months.

Election reform: on June 16, Senate Elections Committee passed SCA 14, by Senator John Vasconcellos. It includes a vast array of election changes: public funding of campaigns; instant-runoff voting; redistricting reform; a larger legislature; a relaxation of term limits to 12 years; and a non-binding "none of the above" provision. It also lowers the legislative two-thirds rule for budget approval to 55%. Also, it requires parties to let independents vote in their primaries, and prohibits campaign consultants and lobbyists from working in the same firm.

Audit trail: on June 15, the Assembly Elections Committee passed SB 1438. It requires electronic voting machines to print a paper record of each voter’s ballot. The voter can see this record, but can’t take it with him or her. Three county elections officials bitterly opposed the bill, but they failed to sway a single vote.

AMERICAN CANDIDATE TV SHOW UNDERWAY

"The American Candidate" TV show will start broadcasting on August 1. But the process by which the twelve initial contestants will be whittled down to two is already underway.

Four of the seven remaining contestants are either members of a minor party, or are involved with election reform issues. They are:

Bruce Friedrich: Green Party member, 34, lives near Norfolk, Virginia, and is an official of PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Malia Lazu: independent, 27, on the Board of the Center for Voting and Democracy. She lives in Takoma Park, Maryland. She formerly lived in Boston, where she founded Boston Vote.

Richard Mack: Libertarian, 51, of Provo, Utah. He was sheriff of Graham County, Arizona, and was the Libertarian candidate for Governor of Utah this year. However, he dropped out in order to appear on the show.

Joyce Riley: Libertarian, 55, radio talk show host in Versailles, Missouri, but until recently lived in Arkansas City, Kansas.

Also, one Republican (Park Gillespie) and two Democrats (Keith Boykin and Lisa Witter) are running.

The original twelve contestants’ first duty was to organize a campaign rally in a place of their own choosing. They could only spend $100 and had only a few hours to plan the rally. The contestants with the fewest attendees were dropped.

Then, each of the eight survivors joined a bus tour. They were not told where they were going. But when they got to the destination, they appeared jointly. Each appealed to as many individuals as possible to telephone a particular phone number. At each stage, those with the fewest incoming phone calls from that one particular state are dropped. The first joint appearance was Keene, New Hampshire, on June 12. The second was Allentown, Pennsylvania; then Charlottesville, Virginia.

LAWSUIT NEWS

Alabama: a U.S. Senate candidate who was excluded from the June 1 Democratic primary this year has filed a lawsuit in federal court to require a new primary, this time with his name on the ballot. The Democratic Party excluded him from this year’s primary because, two years ago, he tried to be an independent candidate. Swanson v Democratic Party, 2:04-cv-534, middle dist.

California: the hearing in Terry Baum’s lawsuit to gain a place on the ballot has been postponed to July 15. Baum is the Green Party nominee for U.S. House in San Francisco.

Colorado: on June 7, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the Republican appeal of a redistricting decision from the State Supreme Court. The State Supreme Court had ruled that the Colorado constitution does not permit redistricting more than once per decade. In the U.S. Supreme Court, the case was General Assembly v Salazar, 03-1082.

Dist. of Columbia: on June 4, the D.C. Court of Appeals ordered the government to count write-in votes in the Green Party’s presidential primary. Best v D.C.Bd of Elections, 04-AA-45. D.C. has a law excusing the Board from counting write-in votes if the vote-counting computer says the total number of write-ins is less than the winner’s vote total. But in this case, 31% of the voters cast a write-in, more than enough to potentially entitle the recipient of the write-in votes to some delegates to the party’s national convention.

Guam: on June 10, a Superior Court ruled that Guam’s blanket primary is unconstitutional, even though no political party complained about that primary. The Attorney General of Guam brought the lawsuit. A.G. v Guam Election Commission, 03-345. On June 16 the legislature changed the primary to an open primary.

Oklahoma: a hearing was held in Libertarian Political Organization v Clingman, 2004-2949, on June 25. The issue is whether the state’s 5% petition requirement for new parties violates the State Constitution.

Kansas: a state court is adjudicating an internal dispute in the Republican Party, over whether the party desires to invite independents into its primary or not. The party’s state chair approved the idea, but the state central committee did not. The Secretary of State believes that the state chair has the authority to set policy, so now the party’s other officers are suing the Secretary of State. Estes v Thornburgh, Shawnee Co. 04-c-813.

Ohio: on June 14, an independent candidate for U.S. House filed a lawsuit in federal court in Cincinnati, alleging that the March 1 petition deadline for independent candidates (for office other than president) is too early. Lawrence v Blackwell, 1:04-cv-398.

Pennsylvania: the U.S. Supreme Court still hasn’t said whether it will hear Zulick v Wise, 03-1300, the case on whether a state can enforce a "sore loser" law only against minor party nominees, but not against major party nominees.

Washington: on June 10, the State Supreme Court ruled that the state should hold an open primary this year, to replace the old blanket primary. Washington State Grange v Locke, 75384-9.

Washington (2): on May 24, the state asked the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a ruling of the 9^th circuit that said the Voting Rights Act can be used to overturn a state ban on felons registering to vote, if the evidence shows that the state’s criminal justice policies are racially discriminatory. Locke v Farrakhan, 03-1597.

LEGISLATIVE NEWS

Alaska: as expected, HB 414 became law on June 5. The Governor did not sign it, but he let it become law without his signature. Starting in 2006, it makes it more difficult for minor parties to remain on the ballot. The new law is almost certainly unconstitutional, since a judge issued an injunction against the old law last year.

Hawaii: HB1521, which would repeal the law that petition signers must put their Social Security number on petitions, failed to pass.

Delaware: on June 17, the Senate passed SB 252, which makes it easier for minor parties to qualify for the ballot. Parties qualify for the ballot by registering voters equal to one-twentieth of 1% of the state registration. The bill doesn’t change that. But under existing law, no one can change parties between April and November of even-numbered years. The bill would eliminate this restriction.

Illinois: the regular session of the legislature adjourned without having passed SB2123, to ease the deadline for President Bush to be put on the ballot. But it may pass in a special session, probably in July.

Maine: the Governor signed LD212 into law on April 1. It requires the Secretary of State to study Instant-Runoff Voting by January 2005.

West Virginia: the Governor signed SB 190 into law on February 3. It lowers the filing fee for presidential candidates from $4,000 to $2,500.

BOOK REVIEW: OTHERS

OTHERS, by Darcy G. Richardson, published 2004 by iUniverse. Hardcover, 668 pages. $47.95.

The sub-title is "Third-Party Politics from the Nation’s Founding to the Rise and Fall of the Greenback-Labor Party." Although there have been many histories of U.S. minor political parties, there has never been a general book on this subject that goes into such detail. Others is only the first in a series of four books, each covering a different segment of time. The other volumes aren’t out yet.

On 350 occasions before 1889, a minor party nominee was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This does not include independents elected to the House, nor does it include winners who were classed as "independent Democrats" or "independent Republicans". Others covers U.S. history from the beginnings of the nation, through 1889. The book is jam-packed with stories about many of these individuals, as well as the individuals who ran for president, and the U.S. Senate, and for state and local office, on minor party tickets. The richness of minor party history is the U.S. in the 19^th century is brought to life by Others.

The book includes a great deal of political history for the major parties as well. It contains hundreds of mini-biographies of the people who propelled 19^th century political parties.

The period covered by Others coincides with the period in U.S. history when there were no ballot access laws. One hopes that judges, legislators, and pundits will read Others, to gain an understanding of how the United States party system thrived in an atmosphere of no legal discrimination for or against any parties.

The personal accounts of so many of the featured characters will easily hold the interest of anyone who is interested in U.S. political history. Others has a 25-page index, so it is useful as a reference book. But it is fundamentally a storybook, not a book of statistics, charts or graphs.

BOOK REVIEW: THE CANDIDATE’s HANDBOOK

by Harvey Yorke, revised and updated by Carl Yorke, 2003, Political Net Press. Paperback, 171 pages. $24.95.

The Candidate’s Handbook is a terse, clear manual of how to run an effective election campaign. It is especially useful for anyone seeking local office. Since it was written by Californians, it tends to be somewhat more relevant to elections in that state than in other states. To order, see www.candidateshandbook.com.

JUNE (AND LATE MAY) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES

State	Kerry	Edwards	Dean	Clark	Sharpton	Lieberman	Kucinich	LaRouche	other
Ala.	164,021	--	--	--	--	--	9,076	7,254	38,223
Idaho	25,921	--	--	--	927	--	1,568	590	2,479
Montana	62,379	8,501	--	4,060	--	--	9,665	765	6,544
N. Jersey	191,816	--	--	--	--	--	9,074	4,528	2,758
So. Dak.	69,473	--	4,838	--	--	--	2,046	2,943	5,105
June Tot.	513,610	8,501	4,838	4,060	927	--	31,249	16,080	55,109
2004 Tot.	9,827,154	3,018,659	927,309	564,160	388,602	278,349	615,677	110,315	306,426

REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARIES: President Bush polled 187,038 in Alabama; 110,800 in Idaho; 105,999 in Montana; 211,218 in New Jersey; and 49,437 in New Mexico. His only ballot-listed opposition in June and late May primaries was "uncommitted", which received 14,449 in Alabama, 12,993 in Idaho, and 5,815 in Montana.

GREEN PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY: in New Mexico, Carol Miller received 345; David Cobb 158; Lorna Salzman 56; Paul Glover 47; Kent Mesplay 16.

The "Other" vote in Democratic presidential primaries in June was "uncommitted", except in New Jersey it was George Ballard.

2004 PETITIONING FOR PRESIDENT

STATE	REQUIREMENTS		SIGNATURES COLLECTED					DEADLINE later method
STATE	FULL PARTY	CAND.	LIB'T	GREEN	NADER	CONSTI.	NAT LAW	DEADLINE later method
Alabama	41,012	5,000	*450	*450	*2,500	*5,000	0	Sep 6
Alaska	(reg) 6,937	#2,845	already on	already on	*100	already on	0	Aug 4
Arizona	16,348	14,694	already on	0	*finished	*too late	*too late	Jun 9
Arkansas	10,000	1,000	900	*1,150	0	*300	0	Aug 2
California	(reg) 77,389	153,035	already on	already on	*1,000	already on	already on	Aug 6
Colorado	(reg) 1,000	#pay fee	already on	already on	virtual on	already on	already on	July 5
Connecticut	no procedure	#7,500	*1,000	already on	*250	*3,800	0	Aug 4
Delaware	(reg) 259	5,184	already on	already on	0	already on	already on	Aug 21
D.C.	no procedure	est. #3,600	*0	already on	*0	*0	*0	Aug 17
Florida	be organized	93,024	already on	already on	virtual on	already on	already on	Sep 1
Georgia	37,153	#37,153	already on	5,000	*2,000	0	0	July 13
Hawaii	677	3,711	already on	already on	0	50	already on	Sep 3
Idaho	10,033	5,017	already on	*5,500	*2,000	already on	already on	Aug 31
Illinois	no procedure	#25,000	*finished	*too late	*finished	*too late	*too late	Jun 21
Indiana	no procedure	#29,553	already on	500	9,000	0	0	Jul 1
Iowa	no procedure	#1,500	*950	*250	0	25	0	Aug 13
Kansas	16,714	5,000	already on	0	0	finished	0	Aug 2
Kentucky	no procedure	#5,000	*550	0	0	*2,000	0	Aug 26
Louisiana	est. (reg) 140,000	#pay fee	1,369	855	0	39	23	Sep 7
Maine	25,260	#4,000	*100	already on	0	*2,800	0	Aug 9
Maryland	10,000	27,899	finished	already on	*2,000	already on	0	Aug 2
Mass.	est. (reg) 38,000	#10,000	already on	already on	*3,000	33	1,469	July 27
Michigan	31,776	31,776	already on	already on	*4,000	already on	already on	July 15
Minnesota	112,557	#2,000	0	already on	can’t start	0	0	Sep 14
Mississippi	be organized	#1,000	already on	already on	virtual on	already on	already on	Sep 3
Missouri	undetermined	10,000	already on	*4,000	0	200	0	July 26
Montana	5,000	#5,000	already on	already on	*2,200	already on	already on	July 28
Nebraska	4,810	2,500	already on	4,700	*100	0	0	Aug 24
Nevada	5,019	5,019	already on	already on	*finished	already on	already on	July 9
New Hamp.	13,260	#3,000	*150	0	*700	finished	0	Aug 11
New Jersey	no procedure	#800	*50	0	*800	*300	0	July 26
New Mexico	2,422	14,527	already on	already on	0	*already on	0	Sep 7
New York	no procedure	#15,000	can't start	can't start	can't start	can't start	can't start	Aug 17
No. Carolina	58,842	100,532	already on	*0	*10,000	*0	0	Jul 6
North Dakota	7,000	#4,000	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	can’t start	Sep 3
Ohio	32,290	5,000	in court	*250	*200	finished	0	Aug 19
Oklahoma	51,781	37,027	in court	0	2,000	0	0	Jul 15
Oregon	18,864	15,306	already on	already on	0	already on	0	Aug 24
Penn.	no procedure	25,697	*13,000	*10,000	*4,000	*8,000	0	Aug 2
Rhode Island	16,592	#1,000	0	already on	0	0	0	Sep 3
So. Carolina	10,000	10,000	already on	already on	*2,000	already on	0	Jul 15
South Dakota	8,364	#3,346	already on	0	*50	already on	0	Aug 3
Tennessee	41,322	*275	0	0	*100	*100	0	Aug 19
Texas	45,540	64,077	finished	too late	in court	too late	too late	May 24
Utah	2,000	#1,000	already on	already on	*100	already on	0	Sep 3
Vermont	be organized	#1,000	already on	already on	0	already on	0	Sep 16
Virginia	no procedure	#10,000	*10,500	*1,200	*2,000	*100	0	Aug 20
Washington	no procedure	*#1,000	already on	*0	*0	*0	*0	Aug 25
West Va.	no procedure	#12,963	finished	0	*1,500	0	0	Aug 2
Wisconsin	10,000	#2,000	already on	already on	can’t start	already on	can't start	Sep 7
Wyoming	3,644	3,644	already on	0	0	0	0	Aug 23
TOTAL STATES ON			28	23	virtual 3	*18	10	-

# allows label.
* entry change since last B.A.N.
Prohibition is on in Co.
Socialist is on in S.C., finished in N.J.
Socialist Equality is finished in N.J.
Socialist Workers started in Ms. and Ut.
American has 1,000 in Mississippi, 100 in Arkansas, and 300 in Utah.

LIBERTARIANS NOMINATE BADNARIK

On May 30, the Libertarian Party national convention nominated Michael Badnarik of Texas for president, and Richard Campagna of Iowa for vice-president.

C-SPAN broadcast the final candidate debate live on May 29, and the roll-call vote on May 30. The outcome for president was a surprise to most observers. Although Badnarik had been one of three candidates who had visited Libertarian state conventions all year (and many conventions last year as well), most Libertarians as well as others expected Gary Nolan or Aaron Russo to receive the nomination. However, Badnarik did very well in the final debate. When he placed second in each of the first two votes, third-place finish Nolan dropped out and endorsed Badnarik. See page five; for the state-by-state tallies.

Badnarik, 49, is a computer programmer and also conducts his own classes on the U.S. constitution. He had run twice before as a Libertarian candidate, each time for the Texas legislature. Neither Nolan nor Russo had ever run for office as a Libertarian, although Russo had run as a Republican for Governor of Nevada in 1998.

LIBERTARIAN VOTE FOR PRESIDENT

STATE	FIRST	VOTE	-	-	SECOND	VOTE	-	-	THIRD	VOTE
-	Russo	Badnk	Nolan	other	Russo	Badnk	Nolan	other	Badnk	Russo
Ala	11	3	2	0	8	3	3	0	3	13
Alas	6	3	1	0	5	4	1	0	5	5
Az	7	2	1	4	10	4	1	0	5	10
Ark	5	1	0	0	5	1	0	0	1	5
Cal	22	12	20	1	25	11	21	1	25	31
Colo	0	4	7	0	0	5	6	0	11	0
Ct	0	0	5	0	0	0	5	0	5	0
Del	1	2	1	0	3	0	1	0	1	3
DC	1	0	2	1	2	0	2	0	2	1
Fla	27	21	11	0	23	24	8	0	30	26
Ga	22	21	20	0	27	19	20	0	36	31
Hi	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	0	- -	- -
Id	2	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	1	2
Ill	12	10	5	0	12	10	5	0	12	15
Ind	4	9	27	0	3	4	34	0	33	6
Iowa	3	8	2	1	3	10	0	1	11	3
Kan	3	1	3	0	4	1	2	0	3	3
Ky	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
La	2	1	5	2	4	0	5	0	4	5
Me	0	0	8	0	0	0	8	0	8	0
Md	9	8	5	1	12	7	4	1	6	16
Mass	6	2	5	1	7	2	5	0	5	7
Mich	6	9	15	0	8	5	17	0	9	20
Minn	4	7	5	0	7	7	2	0	7	9
Miss	0	0	3	0	0	0	3	0	3	0
Mo	5	9	10	0	6	9	9	0	17	7
Mont	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0	1	1
Neb	0	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	2	0
Nev	7	0	0	0	9	0	0	0	0	9
NH	2	7	2	0	2	7	2	0	6	5
NJ	3	7	3	0	3	9	1	0	10	3
NM	6	1	0	0	6	1	0	0	1	6
NY	10	4	3	1	10	5	3	0	6	11
No C	15	18	1	0	18	17	1	0	17	18
No D	0	1	2	0	0	1	2	0	1	2
Ohio	0	0	19	2	0	0	20	1	17	3
Okla	1	3	0	0	1	3	0	0	3	1
Ore	4	5	5	0	4	5	5	0	10	4
Pa	9	14	1	2	15	11	1	0	11	15
RI	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
So C	7	6	3	0	7	6	3	0	9	7
So D	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
Tenn	5	12	4	0	5	12	3	1	14	7
Tex	3	19	7	0	3	19	7	0	23	4
Utah	2	1	1	2	4	1	1	0	1	5
Vt	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
Va	12	15	22	0	10	15	23	0	33	11
Wash	3	0	2	2	2	0	3	2	1	5
WV	0	1	4	0	0	1	4	0	5	0
Wis	8	6	1	0	7	6	1	0	7	7
Wyo	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	0
TOTAL	258	256	246	20	285	249	244	7	423	344

WORKERS WORLD NOMINATES

On May 23, the Workers World Party national committee chose John Parker of Los Angeles for president, and Teresa Gutierrez of New York city for vice-president. This is the first time since 1988 that the Workers World Party has nominated a male for president.

NADER PICKS V-P, GETS MATCHING $$

On June 21, Ralph Nader announced that his vice-presidential candidate will be Peter Camejo. Camejo, 64, of Folsom, California, was the Green Party nominee for Governor of California in 2002, when he polled 5.3%. In other news, on May 28 the Federal Election Commission announced that Nader had qualified for primary season matching funds. He received an initial check for $100,000.

SOCIALIST WORKERS NOMINATES

On June 12, at its national meeting in Oberlin, Ohio, the Socialist Workers Party nominated Roger Calero for president and Arrin Hawkins for vice-president.

INDEPENDENCE PARTY

On June 6, the New York Independence Party state convention unanimously endorsed U.S. Senator Charles Schumer for re-election. The vote guarantees that Schumer, a Democrat, will also receive the Independence Party nomination.

The irony of Schumer’s uncontested nomination is that the Independence Party won’t be holding a statewide primary this year for any office. Thus, the party’s much-heralded rule change last year, permitting registered independents to vote in its primary (for statewide office only), will have no effect this year.

GREEN PARTY

C-SPAN will broadcast the Green Party’s presidential vote selection process on June 26. The party is considered likely to nominate David Cobb, nominate Ralph Nader, or make no nomination. If the party makes no national nomination, the various state parties may or may not make their own presidential choices. Approximately one-third of the delegates are pledged to Cobb; a majority of the remainder are uncommitted. The convention is in Milwaukee.

Ralph Nader will not attend the convention. He will be in Portland, Oregon, speaking to a meeting of supporters. If 1,000 registered Oregon voters attend that meeting, he will be placed on the Oregon ballot as an independent.

July 1, 2004 – Volume 20, Number 3